With production confirmed to have begun, Shadow and Bone has added four new regular cast members for its second season. Based on the bestselling novels by Leigh Bardugo, the Netflix fantasy drama went down a storm when it was released last April, and it’s set to expand the Grishaverse even more when it returns to our screens. Fans of the books have always known which characters would be joining the fray in season two. Now we know who’ll be bringing them to life.
As per The Hollywood Reporter, Mortal Kombat star Lewis Tan, Anna Leong Brophy (Back), Patrick Gibson (The OA), and The Witcher‘s Jack Wolfe are all boarding the show for its sophomore run. Tan and Brophy are set to play twin mercenaries Tolya Yur-Battar and Tamar Kir-Bataar. Gibson will play runaway Ravkan prince Nikolai Lantsov, while Wolfe portrays Wylan Hendriks, the unlikely new member of Kaz Brekker’s criminal crew, the Crows.
The casting announcements came with this video of the assembled cast celebrating the new season:
In addition to these newcomers, three recurring players from season one have been bumped up to regulars this time around, namely, Danielle Galligan (Nina Zenik), Daisy Head (Genya Safin), and Calahan Skogman (Matthias Helvar). Behind the scenes, writer Daegan Fryklind has been promoted to co-showrunner alongside returning boss Eric Heisserer. Bardugo remains involved as an exec producer.
While season one adapted Shadow and Bone and served as a prequel to the spinoff novel Six of Crows, season two will tackle sequel Siege and Storm and Six of Crows itself. Jessie Mei Li (Alina Starkov), Archie Renaux (Mal Oretsev), Freddie Carter (Brekker), Amita Suman (Inej Ghafa), Kit Young (Jesper Fahey), and Ben Barnes (General Kirigan/the Darkling) are set to reprise their roles.
Shadow and Bone season two consists of eight episodes and is believed to be hitting Netflix sometime later — probably near the end of — this year.