#I can see why the netflix adaption also include the Six of Crow books

[bronzewool]

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo is the first book in the Grishaverse universe, a fictional world based on Russian folklore where certain humans, called the Grisha, are born with the ability to manipulate matter in creative ways.

Alina Starkov is an orphan drafted into the First Army as a cartographer alongside her childhood friend Mal, a tracker, whom she has unrequited feelings for. Their unit is sent on an expedition into the Shadow Fold, a mysterious cloak of darkness that has split the country in half and cut off all communication with the eastern border while they are in the middle of a war with a neighboring country. No light can penetrate the Shadow Fold and anyone who dares step through the Fold is torn to shreds by monsters.

Their unit is attacked almost immediately and just as Mal is about to be killed, Alina awakens her hidden Grisha powers, revealing herself to be a Sun Summoner and rescuing Mal and their entire unit with a powerful burst of light. Word quickly spreads of Alina's dormant powers and she is put under the tutelage of the King's Second in Command, The Darkling, a Shadow Summoner who can amplify the powers of other Grisha. Separated from her unit, she is sent to the palace to train alongside other Grisha students who are learning to control their powers to help the ongoing war effort. While struggling to replicate that same power again, Alina is swept up in the politics of the different Grisha classes and may be developing feelings for the Darkling who is the only one who sees her hidden potential.

Shadow and Bone was a big disappointment for me, mostly because I only heard about the premise and thought the book would go in an entirely different direction. I initially assumed the main hook of the conflict was Alina, a cartographer, having to undertake the difficult task of trying to chart out a route through the Shadow Fold when she can't see what's in front of her and monsters will swarm them if they so much as light a match. This initial premise fascinated me because I wanted to read how the party would navigate the Fold, how would they communicate with each other, defend themselves from enemy attack, what else was waiting for them inside, and what has become of the Eastern territory?

Instead, it becomes yet another YA superheroine, coming-of-age story where the protagonist is taken away from the front line and must instead attend magic school in order to master her power of light manipulation to destroy the Shadow Fold for good. There's nothing wrong with the plot, I was just more invested in the comradery of young troops in Alina's unit than in her snobbish classmates who are so separated from the conflict they are blind to the horrors Alina's friends are facing.

Alina does make a few friends at the palace, bonding with a tailor who has the unique ability to change the appearance of other people just by using different materials and is looked down upon by the other girls. Her most important relationship however is with The Darkling who becomes a constant source of encouragement, and who Alina has conflicting feelings for after Mal doesn't return any of her letters.

The pace is quite slow in the first half as we follow Alina's time at the palace and her struggling to summon a ball of light for a good chunk of the book, but picks up again in the second half when shit hits the fan and Alina must run away.

Overall, I just didn't find the book that compelling plot-wise. The plot twist was obvious (oh no the guy who can manipulate shadows and is literally called The Darkling is responsible for the giant magical shadowy veil that has split the country in half...who could have possibly seen that coming?) and the characters just aren't that compelling. Even the magic school is underwhelming and I don't see anyone developing a die-hard fanbase over which colour cloak they'd want to join and what powers they would have. It's kinda basic.

The only thing it had going for it was the "Let us rule together" dynamic of our hero and villain who have the perfect Light/Darkness motif going on. If evil immortal dudes simping over virtuous young heroines is your ship dynamic then you will get something out of this (spoilers: she picks the childhood best friend >:/)

Rating: 3/5

[richincolor]

SomeThoughts about Netflix's Shadow & Bone

This past Friday, the highly anticipated Shadow and Bone series premiered on Netflix and fans of the Grishaverse all over the world logged in to watch their favs come to life. There was much discussion of the inclusion of numerous characters from throughout the Grishaverse and that diversity was a focus in the casting of the show, especially Jessie Mei Li who is biracial, therefore changing the main character’s ethnicity to biracial Shu Han. Unfortunately, that decision didn’t pay off to well due to the showrunner’s handling of Alina’s ethnicity. Twitter blew up as people shared their hurt and warned others about what to expect.

I had planned to watch the show and happened to see one such warning before I watched the series so I was prepared. I watched a couple of episodes, then called it a night. The next morning I was unsettled and reached out to my fellow contributors here on Rich in Color. No one had seen it yet, but Jessica said she was planning to as well. As we chatted, I felt that our conversation should be shared with our readers, so Jessica and I decided to write our thoughts down and have a conversation after she watched a few episodes herself.

Oh, and spoilers abound!

First off, before we dive into this conversation: Have you read the Grishaverse series? How much did you know about the story going in?

K. Imani: As everyone knows I love fantasy so I’m open to reading all sorts of fantasy books. I read the Shadow & Bone series a few years ago and enjoyed it. When the Six of Crows duology came out I read those too and actually enjoyed those better than the original series. Why - more diversity? It also expanded the world and the different perspectives of “Grisha” like folk from other cultures. It was very clear from the writing that Bardugo realized her first series was very lacking in diversity and worked hard to change it. I actually re-read both series during quarantine, so I had a fair idea of what the Netflix series would be about.

Jessica: I’ve actually never read a single Grishaverse book! I know, shocking. I only knew two things about the series going into the show: 1) Six of Crows is a heist book? 2) Ben Barnes is a person who exists.

The cast announcement for any show is always so exciting, and Shadow and Bone was no different. How did you feel about the casting -- before and after you watched the show? What did you think was done well, and what did you think could be improved?

K. Imani: Before watching the show I was actually a bit confused about some of the casting choices. I didn’t understand why 3 of the main Six of Crows characters were in the show and I honestly did not make the connection to Alina and Mal being biracial. Knowing that the Grishaverse is “Russian-based” and knowing that some ethnic Mongolians are considered Russian I just found it cool that the show cast a person who didn’t fit a Russian stereotype. Oh boy was I way off! Overall I was pleased with the casting and think all the actors did a great job. I liked the few changes they did make with casting actors of colors for other roles to round out the diversity of the world.

Bringing it back to Mal, I was confused as to if he was supposed to be coded as biracial. I missed the reference in the show, but I did read somewhere that he was supposed to be as well and that is what bonded him to Alina. If that’s the case, then how come Alina was the only person to experience racism? That thought continues to sit on my heart because it shows that the writers did not really think through how they wanted to express racism and included it for the wrong reasons.

Jessica: My reaction was basically, “I’m happy that other people seem happy!” since again, I had no context for the show. Casting on Netflix shows often seems to be a case of “cool, this is some exciting casting… but definitely could be better and even more intentional.”

K. Imani: “More intentional” That is the word right there! Making a story more diverse is wonderful and fully reflects the world we live in, however if you just randomly do it without thinking it through it comes off as insensitive. I know Leigh Bardugo used this show as an opportunity to make her story better (and I do not begrudge her of that fact) but when one doesn’t think it through, the criticism that is being expressed is a direct result.

Jessica: Sidenote -- I ended up watching a booktube video titled “Darker Jesper, Fat Nina, Shadow and Bone Casting Thoughts” on booktube channel Chronicles of Noria about the casting. Highly recommend checking it out. I also recommend this profile on Jessie Mei Li, who talks about being gender nonconforming.

Did any changes in the Netflix adaptation stick out to you? Were there changes you liked or disliked?

K. Imani: My favorite part of the adaptation is how well the show runners included the Six of Crows characters into the narrative. The storyline completely worked for me and connected the two stories together. I really enjoyed the Arken storyline (and the character tbh) as it was used to flesh out the world of the Grishaverse, which made the series much more interesting. I also liked the change of making Ivan and Fedyor a couple instead of just Darkling’s henchmen as it humanized them and actually made me like Ivan because they were so cute together. Though how that will come into play after the events of Episode 8 will be interesting. I’m a sucker for the Enemies to Lover trope so I loved that Nina’s & Matthia’s story of how they came together was included here. In either Six of Crows or Crooked Kingdom (I don’t remember), it was told as a flashback, but I loved that it was moved here as their “origin story”, so to speak, and how it connects to the events of the Alina timeline.

What I didn’t like...the casual racism. It really bothered me and left me sad the next morning. For example, a certain poster shown in the first episode had me physically cringe and I was upset that 1)  the production designers even created it and 2) no one, at no point, said that was a bad idea? Come on! It was horrible to see and I can imagine the hurt an AAPI would experience seeing that. And then, it got worse. Racial slurs thrown around a couple of times in the first couple of episodes to show that Alina is an outsider. They were jarring and took me out of the narrative. Having read the books I knew there was tension between the Ravkans and Shu Han, so I could understand what the show runners were trying to do, but it was actually never explained in show, hence making the racism feel random and just there for shock value.

Jessica: I saw tweets going around alluding to the racism Alina (and other characters to a less frequent extent) faced, so I braced myself for it. I’m only a few episodes in, and the instances so far were brief… but it just didn’t feel right. The foundation for this portrayal of racism wasn’t laid properly. And if the work of laying the foundation and really digging into what it means for the overall worldbuilding doesn’t happen… then why include it at all? Especially if it might be painful for certain viewers? I’m sure harm wasn’t the intent, but that’s the impact. Why not leave it out and let the show be escapism?

K. Imani: Jessica, the eyes comment took me out, not gonna lie. I audibly screamed. Anyone who has experienced a racist comment based on their looks felt that in their gut which is horrible when watching a show for escapism.

Jessica: Yeah, the eyes and rice-eater comments were especially frustrating. On top of it being a reminder of the racism Asians experience daily… it doesn’t make much sense. Like, canonically, do people in Ravka not eat rice? An American’s conception of racism isn’t necessarily going to make sense in a (Imperial Russia-inspired) fantasy world. But maybe I’m missing something since I didn’t read the original books.

And the eyes comment… whoof. When I was a kid, other kids would make fun of my eyes and ask me to, like, count seagulls because surely, I couldn’t see out of my eyes… And the other kids were also Asian! Internalized racism is so real. It’s disappointing that Shadow and Bone would include this experience as, I don’t know, discrimination flavor text. Surely there were better ways to portray discrimination that made sense within the Grishaverse…

Ellen Oh really said it so well: “If a writer is going to show racism against Asians, it's important to balance it with the beauty of all that makes us Asian also.” Where is the balance? Where is the nuance? Even if Alina’s Shu Han mother isn’t alive, couldn’t Alina have had a treasured Shu Han pendant? Just spitballing here. There were so many possibilities.

K. Imani: Exactly. I agree with Ellen and unfortunately there is no balance. That’s what makes it so hurtful. The focus is on how bad it is that she’s biracial and how bad the Shu Hans are for no specific reason. Because Alina is an orphan and grew up in Ravka, she unfortunately has no connection to Shu Han culture (or at least what is shown on screen) so all that she identifies as is Ravkan who just happens to look like a Shu Han person, but she doesn’t exhibit any pride in being Shu Han. Her ethnicity is just another obstacle to overcome which is all the more cringeworthy and why having Alina be biracial just to be biracial without thinking it through ended up being so problematic. Having her be biracial and using casual racism as an “obstacle” that she has to overcome is such a shallow interpretation of racism and shows the writers didn’t do the work to really think about the why the racism exists.

In addition to talking about what was done well and what went wrong or felt off about certain representation, it’s important to look at the “how.” How did this happen?

Jessica: I read on Twitter that one of the show writers is Korean and biracial -- which is awesome! I was really heartened to hear that. But at the same time, this highlights how important it is to have multiple marginalized voices in the room who can speak with some level of expertise. I don’t know the decision-making process that went into including this sort of surface-level, simplistic version of real world racism, but I wonder if anyone, at any point, said “is there a more nuanced and original way to portray this?” or “how will this affect Asian viewers?” Did someone bring it up, and they were overruled? What happened?

This absolutely isn’t a judgment on the Asian writers or staff on the show. When I’ve done collaborative writing, there were times I caught an issue and said “we need to be more sensitive about this” -- and there were other times when my teammates pointed out something I didn’t notice. It happens! That’s why it’s so important to have multiple marginalized perspectives when creating something -- especially when it’s a work as impactful and far-reaching as a Netflix show. Placing the burden of complex, nuanced representation on one, or a scant handful, of marginalized creators is just not going to work… and it’s not fair to the creators, either.

Frankly, this is a problem in so many industries -- film, publishing, games... there are so many “diverse” shows, games, etc with all-white or majority white teams. Good, nuanced representation can only happen when BIPOC / marginalized creators are the majority and have power behind-the-scenes. (This is why I’m really excited to watch the show Rutherford Falls -- half the writers room are Indigenous writers, as is the co-creator!)

K. Imani: Exactly! It’s great that one of the writers is biracial and Korean, but if she’s the only one how much input did she really have? I’m by no means knocking her experience but, say for example, that particular poster in the first episode. No one else behind the scenes found it problematic? There are many steps to a production process and that poster, if there had been more diverse voices present on the production staff instead of just 1 writer, would have been flagged as a huge problem and redone. The poster was supposed to be a “short cut” to show Ravkan/Shu Han tension but instead it came off as so profoundly racist and unnecessary. There are many other non-racist ways to explore the tensions between the two countries that could have been explored instead of just jumping to racism. And...as someone on Twitter pointed out, we never see the tension between the Ravkans and the Shu Han, but we openly see fighting between the Ravkans and the Fjierdans, so why were they not vilified to the same extent?

Jessica: Right. I’m definitely not saying racism can’t be portrayed in fantasy ever. But if you’re going to do it, make it make sense within the world. Don’t just use it as shorthand for “this character is Other.” I mean, experiencing racism isn’t what makes me Asian…

K. Imani: Boom! I’m going to repeat that for the people in the back...experiencing racism is not what makes a person Asian or Black, and if you are going to have racism in a work of art, be sure to provide balance to show all the other aspects of a person of color’s life.

Since we’re talking creators behind-the-scenes… which YA fantasy books by Asian authors do you think would make great Netflix shows or movies?

Jessica: I’ve got a list about a mile long, but I’ve cut it down to my top four:

These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong

Forest of a Thousand Lanterns by Julie C. Dao

The Tiger at Midnight by Swati Teerdhala

The Epic Crush of Genie Lo by F.C. Yee

You’re welcome, Netflix execs who are totally reading this blog. Hop to it!

K. Imani: I second the Tiger at Midnight series! I loved the first two books and can’t wait for the conclusion in June. While not YA, the City of Brass series would make an excellent Netflix series. Anything Maurene Goo writes would be fun rom-coms (because we need those too!).

Jessica: I mean, with To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before complete… Netflix clearly needs to start adapting Maurene Goo’s books.

K. Imani: Yes, the people demand it! I don’t care which book, just grab one of them and get the production started.

On a final note, I do want to say that despite the criticism the show rightly deserves, there was much about the show that was enjoyable. The storytelling was strong and moved at a good pace, the costuming was on point, special effects worked seamlessly into the narrative, and even small touches such as how the Grishas used their small science was visually interesting. Book adaptations are always hard to pull off well and the Shadow and Bone production team did a good job overall. Their intention towards adding more diversity is a step in the right direction, but just didn’t do enough. Let’s hope they learn from their mistakes and improve for season 2.

[dtrhwithalex]

BOOK | Grisha Trilogy (Leigh Bardugo)

Shadow and Bone (2012), Siege and Storm (2013), Ruin and Rising (2014)

I came to this world through the Netflix adaptation SHADOW AND BONE which came out earlier this year, and after, to my huge surprise, falling in love with these stories, I decided I would have to give these books a go as well. I've been aware of the Grishaverse for quite some time now but probably especially since SIX OF CROWS came out in 2016 and tumblr went completely batshit for one (1) Kaz Brekker. I am always kind of wary when it comes to entertainment that tumblr goes nuts for, especially when it is YA fiction, because I do not quite trust the general consensus (I was sorely disappointed by Donna Tartt's THE SECRET HISTORY which I found tremendously boring). So actually, I've been actively avoiding reading this book series until now. But then the Netflix adaptation happened and well—you can blame (or thank) Ben Barnes, because he is pretty much at fault for this alone. Anyway, enough preamble.

I've just recently finished reading the last book of the trilogy and I have to say, I have to my surprise really enjoyed these books! I've also read the short stories THE WITCH OF DUVA after the first book, and THE TAILOR and THE TOO-CLEVER FOX after the second, and will be reading LITTLE KNIFE and THE DEMON IN THE WOOD before I move on to the Crows duology. I am reading the short stories according to publication year and not specific date, so they might not be completely in release order.

Reading SHADOW AND BONE I was very much always thinking back and comparing to the plot of the show since that was my original basis for the story. I am not too fond of first person narratives as I prefer things to be written in third person, but I've found that it did not bother me all that much in these books. What I realised though, was that I liked the show a bit more than the book, because it goes beyond Alina's story and the information a reader gets through her focalisation. We get to see Mal's story instead of only hearing of some of it when he and Alina are finally reunited once she leaves the Little Palace, which to me also made the character a whole lot more likable and interesting than in the books. I've also found that I really enjoyed the integration of the Crows in the show because it made the time leading up to and including the Winter Fete that much more interesting. Generally, I really liked most of the changes they made to the story for the adaptation—Alina scheming to get on the skiff, the Darkling's claw ring instead of the knife, that Alina seems to ride the entire way to Os Alta with the Darkling, the explicit consent given at the Winter Fete, erasing the scar, the fact that Alina and Mal don't kiss during the search of the stag. I would have loved to see some of the early scenes like in the book though, especially Alina and Mal on the way to Kribirsk and nearly getting run over by the Grisha carriages. I am also not entirely sure what I want to think about the change of Morozova's collar. I thought it was super dope that it was actually mended into her collarbone, but I am uncertain about her being able to completely melt it into her body and have it disappear like that. But generally, I really liked this first book. I think it does a pretty good job of establishing the world through Alina's eyes and gearing up the plot of the three novels.

SIEGE AND STORM then, of course, gave me my first look into the Grishaverse that was not completely informed by the adaptation. I was super surprised how quick it became clear to them that the Darkling had survived the events in the Fold and for him to catch up with them. I loved the sequences on the Volkvolny with Sturmhond though. And although I was aware that there was a character called Nikolai in this universe, it took me forever to catch on that he was Sturmhond, and when that reveal came I was very much happily blown away. I am super excited to see that character translated to screen (when, not if, the show finally gets renewed for a second season). I really enjoyed the hunt for Rusalye, the introduction of Tamar and Tolya, and for the role Genya gets to play in that sequence. Also, when first getting into this universe, my immediate first thought was, why don't they just fly over the Fold. Do airborne crafts not exist in this world (yet)? No balloons or something like it? And then of course Sturmhond delivered which definitely helped solidify how much I like his character. I am an incredibly visual person, so I think my favourite bits of this book are all somehow related to how much I would like to see them brought to screen (it's either that, or just how much I want to see Ben and Jessie be brilliant in scenes together). The bond between Alina and the Darkling I really enjoyed a lot and also absolutely the scene in the chapel at the end with him believing that she has finally chosen his side, only for her to then try and kill him with their combined powers and merzost. An absolutely extraordinary scene and if Netflix does not renew this show and I never get to see Ben and Jessie fucking nail this scene, I might just riot.

I had to take a bit of a break in-between books two and three because of uni responsibilities, but I finally got around to reading RUIN AND RISING and finished it two days ago. I am very unsure if I liked the ending or not, but more on that later. I was very glad when they finally got out of the White Cathedral and back to the world above ground, because as cool as this undergound world is, the Apparat creeps me out and so does religious culty stuff. I loved the plotting and scheming though and the fact that Alina can control shadows to some extent. Very cool. Prince Nikolai to the rescue once more was also fantastic and the existence of the Spinning Wheel fascinates me to no end. That I definitely want to see translated on screen. Make me a beautiful observatory to fall in love with, Netflix, make me one! Loved the return of Baghra as well, and generally all of her moments at the Spinning Wheel. The Darkling's attack too was right up my alley, and nichevo'ya!Nikolai? Fucking dope, I love it. This novel especially makes for some great visuals that I can't wait to see on the show. Just gimme, all of it. I liked that the Firebird was not the third amplifier, and I find the idea of Mal being the amplifier instead quite intriguing. What I am not so sure about is the actual ending. I once again really loved the bond scenes between Alina and the Darkling, and I now absolutely see why some fans are upset about him giving up his real name so quickly in the show. I do wonder how that is going to play out eventually. I did like the Darkling's ending—his desperation at Alina losing her power, his plea to her that there will be no grave, and him asking for her to speak his name one last time. And I loved that, as horrible of a person he was, as much gruesome things he did, Alina still understood what drove him and still felt a certain kinship to that, and ultimately did also mourn him in a way. There is this echoing of that line from the show—"we could have had this, all of it"—if only he'd asked, and I absolutely love that. Their dynamic is just incredibly intriguing. The thing I am not sure about is Alina losing her power. Mal coming back to life, yeah okay maybe. The power of the Sun Summoner splitting and finding root in every otkazat'sya in the vicinity, that was amazing. But Alina completely losing her power? I don't know. I am not sure what I want to think about that. I see where it comes from but I don't think I like it.

Overall, I have to say, I really enjoyed this trilogy. I don't think I've read a YA series since the HP one which I grew up with. I am honestly very positively surprised by this fact. I am very excited to read on, especially since summer break has now officially started for me and I actually have the time to read. I know I mentioned some of the short stories in the beginning, but I think I will talk about those separately once I've read them all.

For now all that I can say is, damn you, Ben Barnes, for being this attractive as a bad guy, you alone are to blame that I am falling down this particular rabbit hole. Thanks so much.

[aion-rsa]

Shadow and Bone: Why Netflix Cast Its Fantasy Adaptation With Relative Unknowns

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In the film and television industry, the idea of an “unknown” is extremely relative. Just because an actor isn’t one of the Hollywood Chrises doesn’t mean a media-literate viewer hasn’t seen them before. That being said, there is a difference between Chris Evans and an actor from a Doctor Who guest spot, and Netflix’s latest series—Shadow and Bone, an adaptation of Leigh Bardugo’s Grishaverse books—is mostly banking on the latter. While Ben Barnes, who you will probably recognize as Logan from Westworld or Prince Caspian from The Chronicles of Narnia series, will be playing the mysterious and enigmatic General Kirigan in Shadow & Bone, most of the young cast have only a few mainstream credits to their names—and, frankly, I think it’s really working for the fantasy adaptation.

“This is a story about young people who have been overlooked and who’ve never had the chance to show people what they can do, who have all this talent and all of this power,” Leigh Bardugo told Den of Geek, thematically connecting this cast of young actors getting the opportunity to demonstrate their talent with their characters’ own efforts to make their mark on the world. “So it made a lot of sense in terms of the soul of the books for us to have all these incredibly gifted young people that arrived on our doorstep, like a magical gift in the show.”

Particularly when bringing a fantasy world to life, casting relative unknowns can be an excellent strategy for creating a sense of otherworldly newness. When you’ve seen an actor in something before, there is a mental path to be pulled out of the narrative. If you have no prior associations with that actor, it can be a bit easier to believe in the wholeness of this rich fantasy world. That being said, the decision to go with relative unknowns for Shadow and Bone was also a financial one, as actors with fewer or no previous successful screen projects to their name tend to be paid less for their work.

“This is an area where philosophy and practicality merge with me,” showrunner Eric Heisserer told Den of Geek. “On the one hand, I tend to be more enamored with actors who step into a role and they aren’t branded with the fame of a role that I identify with them elsewhere. I don’t see them as so-and-so playing Jesper or Alina or whatever the case may be. And then I discovered that we didn’t have a lot of money. So honestly, this was a modest budget. Hopefully you see every kruge on the screen so it feels it’s a big show, but … it’s trying to make itself as big as possible. With that comes the fact that we got a chance to give some of these performers a break.”

Meet the young and talented cast of Shadow & Bone…

Jessie Mei Li as Alina Starkov

Netflix cast English actress Jessie Mei Li in Shadow and Bone‘s central role of Alina Starkov, the orphan mapmaker who may hold the power to destroying the Shadow Fold. While you may not know who Li is yet, she’s probably about to become a big star. Though the 25-year-old Chinese-British actress only has a few credits under her belt, they’re impressive ones. Li made her stage debut in 2019’s National Theatre Live production of All About Eve, starring Gillian Anderson and Lily James. Before filming Shadow and Bone, she filmed a supporting role in Edgar Wright’s upcoming Last Night in Soho, in which she will play Lara Chung.

Archie Renaux as Mal Oretsev

Archie Renaux plays Mal, aka Alina’s oldest friend, in Shadow and Bone. The 23-year-old British actor and model had a brief role in Amazon Prime’s Hanna (he played Feliciano in Season 1’s “Friend”) before appearing as Leo Day in 2019’s Gold Digger (alongside Shadow and Bone co-star Ben Barnes). In addition to Shadow and Bone, Renaux has upcoming film roles in Marvel’s Morbius and Neil Burger’s sci-fi film Voyagers.

Freddy Carter as Kaz Brekker

Freddy Carter stars as Kaz, one of the main characters from the Six of Crows duology, which is also being adapted as part of the Shadow and Bone Netflix series. Comics fans may recognize Carter from his three-episode turn as Jason Ripper in Pennyworth, but he got far more screen time in his main role in Netflix’s family-friendly horse drama series Free Rein, in which he played stable boy with a secret Pin Hawthorne.

Amita Suman as Inej Ghafa

Inej is played by Amita Suman, a 23-year-old Nepalese-born British actress who you may remember from her turn on Doctor Who. Suman gave a very memorable performance as the young version of Yaz’s grandmother Umbreen in Season 11 standout “Demons of the Punjab.” Suman has also recurred as Naya in Season 2 of The CW’s The Outpost.

Kit Young as Jesper Fahey

Kit Young, who plays sharpshooter Jesper in Shadow and Bone, graduated from RADA in 2017 and has mostly done stage work since then, including a role as Lysander in a 2019 National Theatre Live production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The 26-year-old actor of Scottish and Ugandan descent is set to appear in Netflix’s upcoming film adaptation of The School For Good and Evil, directed by Paul Feig and starring Charlize Theron, Kerry Washington, Laurence Fishburne, and Michelle Yeoh.

Danielle Galligan as Nina Zenik

Irish actress Danielle Galligan plays Heartrender Nina Zenik in Shadow and Bone. The 28-year-old actress has mostly done theater before this, but has snagged guest roles in Irish-based productions Game of Thrones (she played Sarra in Season 8’s “The Last of the Starks”) and Krypton (she played Enaj in two episodes).

Calahan Skogman as Matthias Helvar

Oh hey, an American! Wisconsin native Calahan Skogman plays Drüskelle Matthias in Shadow and Bone. To say that this is Skogman’s first screen role would not literally be true, but… it is basically true.

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Shadow & Bone premieres April 26th on Netflix.

The post Shadow and Bone: Why Netflix Cast Its Fantasy Adaptation With Relative Unknowns appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/3r9AZ6d

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Netflix has been on a book acquisition spree over the past year, developing screen adaptations of dozens of novels, series, short story collections, and graphic novels. About 50 of these literary properties are being turned into series projects, while the screening service has announced plans to adapt only a handful into features—a list that includes Button Man by John Wagner, I’m Thinking of Ending Things by Iain Reid, Pashmina by Nidhi Chanani, and The Willoughbys by Lois Lowry.

Netflix has 139 million subscribers, and these properties will provide the streaming giant with features, series, and animated shows for the coming years. “There’s just no other substitute for the amount of work and creativity that goes into a book,” said Matt Thunell, v-p of original series at Netflix.

Adaptation has long played a role in Netflix’s development efforts, with Piper Kerman’s Orange Is the New Black (2013), Jay Asher’s 13 Reasons Why (2017), and Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events (2017) all turned into ongoing series. “We have development teams who are reading all night and every weekend,” said Kelly Luegenbiehl, v-p of creative for international originals at Netflix.

Many of Netflix’s deals begin with Maria Campbell Literary Associates. In 2017, Netflix exclusively retained that agency for its book-scouting efforts to find English- and foreign-language titles to adapt from around the world, including from the U.S. “I’m on the phone with them every week, talking about what’s going on in New York, what’s new, and about library properties as well,” Thunell said. In addition, Netflix executives now attend such international literary rights events as the London Book Fair and the Frankfurt Book Fair.

Campbell’s agency has also helped the company forge deeper relationships with publishers. For example, Netflix is adapting Frank Miller and Tom Wheeler’s illustrated novel Cursed as a series and coordinating release schedules with Simon & Schuster. “That is the kind of partnership that we’re really craving,” Thunell said. “To get in early with publishers and do something that is really mutually beneficial.”

Netflix is starting to explore new relationships with authors as well. Last summer, the company inked an exclusive multiyear deal with American thriller novelist Harlan Coben, developing 14 of his projects into series and features for Netflix’s global subscriber base. The streaming company is sharing Coben’s material with global producers to get new perspectives on his work, exploring adaptations that could be made around the world. If producers overseas end up adapting one of these works, Netflix will share that foreign-language version with all of its subscribers rather than making a separate adaptation for English-speaking markets. “It’s fun to see how local producers would take that source material and get inspired to adapt it for their local market,” Luegenbiehl said.

Luegenbiehl noted Netflix’s interest in acquiring other “libraries of content” from certain authors but wouldn’t go into specifics. In November, the company announced plans for a “slate of premium animated event series and specials” based on a long list of Roald Dahl books. That series of adaptations was the result of a joint agreement with the Roald Dahl Story Company.

One Netflix project spawned its own literary offering during development. Henry Selick, director of Coraline, inked a deal with the company for an original stop-motion animation feature titled Wendell and Wild. Writer-director Jordan Peele and author Clay McLeod Chapman are working with Selick on the script, but Selick and Chapman are also writing a book based on the story for S&S. The Gotham Group represents Selick and S&S, and Eddie Gamarra—cohead of Gotham Group’s book department and a literary manager—will executive produce the project. “We’re very deep in the Netflix space,” Gamarra said. “They’ve been a great home for our projects.”

When Netflix’s creative executives discussed adapting Polish novelist Andrzej Sapkowski’s Witcher series, Luegenbiehl’s team dissuaded the producers from making a standalone film. Luegenbiehl recalled asking them, “How can you take eight novels and just turn it into a film? There’s so much material here. There’s so much that you can do.” She added, “Through a number of conversations, the producers got really excited about the idea of using the source material for a longer-running series.”

“Netflix executives can discuss the books in-depth,” said New Leaf Literary founder Joanna Volpe. “That’s why we are seeing such great adaptations: because they are reading it and getting to the heart of the books.” Volpe represents author Leigh Bardugo, and Netflix recently acquired the rights to adapt all the books in her Shadow and Bone trilogy and Six of Crows duology into a single series.

New Leaf film and television head Pouya Shahbazian first introduced Thunell to the series in 2012. A few years into his tenure at Netflix, he turned to Netflix’s treasure trove of data to reconsider the project.

Netflix divides its global viewers into “taste clusters” or “taste communities.” A New York magazinearticle counted nearly 2,000 of these taste communities that compose the streaming service’s global audience. Netflix has kept its viewership statistics and taste community designations mostly secret but revealed a few select audience figures in a letter to investors in January. The company estimated its adaptation of Josh Malerman’s Bird Box novel was “enjoyed by over 80 million member households” during its first four weeks on the service.

“There is one taste community that I’ll loosely describe as the intersection of romance and the supernatural,” Thunell said, citing fans of Twilight and the Vampire Diaries as examples. “We didn’t have an original series that catered to this audience and this taste community. That frankly gave me the confidence, after years of waiting to get into the deal, to actually do it.”

In January, Netflix greenlit eight episodes of the Shadow and Bone series, bringing together the creatives behind two popular Netflix projects: Eric Heisserer, the Academy Award–nominated screenwriter who adapted Bird Box, and Shawn Levy, who executive produced Stranger Things. “At Netflix, our entire philosophy is we want to make everything that we buy,” Thunell said. “I’m buying Shadow and Bone because I intend to make it.”

Buzzy series such as Shadow and Bone are attractive, but Netflix is not just looking for bestsellers. “It is a factor if people love the story,” Luegenbiehl said. “That’s something that we want to know about, but it’s definitely not the single determining factor in why we would adapt something.” She cited the development of The Protector, a superhero fantasy series loosely based on a Turkish novel by N. Ipek Gökdel, as an example of a successful adaptation without a global fan base. “It wasn’t even translated into English, but our producers really saw something in the inspiration of a Turkish superhero.”

Netflix shared the show (its first Turkish original) with its global subscriber base and has since renewed the series for a second season. According to Netflix’s January letter to shareholders, the show was “enjoyed by over 10 million member households” during the first month of global release on the service.

Netflix recently secured adaptation rights to Gabriel García Márquez’s One Hundred Years of Solitude—a deal that included the company’s promise to shoot the series in Spanish and film in Márquez’s native Colombia. “In the past, the prevailing wisdom would have been to have everyone speak English in order to make it a more global show,” Luegenbiehl said. But the executive found through her time at Netflix that “authentic” foreign-language properties can resonate with “universal audiences”—a realization that inspired her development teams to seek literary talent in other languages and other cultures. “We’ll continue to look to books to find new voices, especially as we’re expanding into the African continent,” she added. “There’s a lot of great literature there. We’re really actively looking to tap into some stories there that perhaps didn’t have the right platform to be told on a global scale before.”

Both executives see literary material as an irreplaceable resource. “The reason I love books—especially a book-to-series translation—is that they often provide this incredible landscape, mythology, and opportunity for worldbuilding that’s really hard to come by in the everyday pitches I’m hearing,” Thunell said.