Shadow and Bone Season 2: The Darkling ‘a bit more representative in Alina’s mind’, teases Ben Barnes

Spoiler Alert: This article contains spoilers. Proceed with caution if you have not watched the show/movie.

Netflix will be back with the story of Grishaverse by Leigh Bardugo in 2023 in the form of Shadow and Bone Season 2. Here’s what we can expect in the second season of the fantasy drama.

Season 1 of Shadow and Bone introduces the orphan mapmaker Alina Starkov (played by Jessie Mei Li), who discovers her power to control light. The general of the Second Army and the Shadow Summoner, General Aleksander Kirigan (Ben Barnes) who saves her, later proves to be the primary villain in the series. He takes her under his wing.

In another part of the story, viewers are introduced to the gang leader of Crow, Kaz Brekker (Freddy Carter) and his members of the troop Jesper (Kit Young) and Inej (Amita Suman). They are hired to kidnap Alina.

The series concluded with they successfully killed Kirigan after seeing what he has done to what he had done to West Ravka. Alina moves out of Kirigan's control by cutting the antler from his hand and, with help from the Crows, defeats Kirigan's forces. Mal fights Kirigan but Kirigan is suddenly dragged away by Volcra. Zoya, Alina, and Mal, along with the Crows, leave the Fold, being the only survivors, and decide to go their separate ways. Kaz's gang meets Nina at the skiff headed back to Ketterdam. Alina goes with Mal on the skiff, as well, to continue learning how to use her powers.

Alina discovers she is a Grisha, a magic user with the legendary power to create light, which could be the key to setting her country free from the Fold. As the Six of Crow's storyline progresses, we'll learn more about Kaz and his crew's experiences. Kirigan, the Darkling is alive, stronger than ever, and hell-bent on revenge.

Kirigan is the “most powerful man in the universe.” He’s the most powerful [person] in the universe, manipulates the darkness and is feared by other people because he’s employing this politics of fear to push his agenda,” Barnes told Us Weekly.

He also said, his character in the series will be slightly different in Shadow and Bone Season 2.

“I think the character becomes a bit more representative in Alina’s mind of what the darkness is and a bit symbolic, and I wanted to keep him as a human being,” Barnes told Collider in April 2021. “He’s manyfold more powerful, now that he has the walking, living volcra that he can summon and send at his will without even having to use his hands to use magic.”

As for the cast list, Li, Barnes, Archie Renaux (Mal), Freddy Carter (Kaz), Amita Suman (Inej), Kit Young (Jesper), Danielle Galligan (Nina), Calahan Skogman (Matthias), Sujaya Dasgupta (Zoya), Julian Kostov (Fedyor), Daisy Head (Genya), and Dean Lennox Kelly (Pekka Rollins) are all expected to return. Galligan, Skogman, and Head have been promoted to series regulars.

There are some new additions to the cast list including Anna Leong Brophy (as Tamar Kir-Bataar), Jack Wolfe (as Wylan Hendriks), Lewis Tan (as play Tolya Yul-Bataar), and Patrick Gibson (as Nikolai Lantsov).

Filming for Shadow and Bone Season 2 has been wrapped up on June 2022. The exact release date for the eight episodes is yet to be announced. Keep reading Devdiscourse for more updates on the Netflix series.

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