Set your expectations, friends: author/executive producer Leigh Bardugo and showrunner Eric Heisserer weren’t able to show a Shadow and Bone trailer during their NYCC panel, because as Bardugo said, “the trailer doesn’t exist yet.” But they gave viewers a taste of the Grisha theme and talked about the making of the show in a wide-ranging, enthusiastic conversation that’s absolutely worth a watch.
Barduo and Heisserer (the writer of Arrival, among other things) have an easy, friendly rapport that made their conversation feel like eavesdropping on two friends catching up, and less like some of the awkward Zooms we’ve all seen (or been part of). They had to be careful what they revealed about Netflix’s Shadow and Bone, the series that will combine elements from Bardugo’s Shadow and Bone Trilogy and Six of Crows Duology. One official cast photo exists for the show, and both Bardugo and Heisserer have shared behind-the-scenes tidbits and images via their social media.
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The pair discussed casting, props, their early SFF loves (he wanted Sandman‘s Death to be his girlfriend; she loved Dune), and the process of working with the network and bringing Bardugo’s world to life. “We really were on the same page in terms of inclusion, in terms of the way we wanted to staff the room, in terms of what mattered to us in the story. So that meant a lot to me,” Bardugo said about meeting with Heisserer.
At just about minute 21, you can listen to what Bardugo calls “a teeny tiny taste of Joe Trapanese’s beautiful score”—the Grisha theme. It’s gorgeous, dark, atmospheric, and just right for the story.
“I hope it feels like a gift, like a treat, like something that speaks to the same emotions of the books but also gives readers something completely new and different that doesn’t exist on those pages,” Bardugo says of the adaptation, which doesn’t have a release date yet. Filming wrapped at the end of February, and Ben Barnes, who plays the Darkling, gave an interview back in May that dropped a few hints. But we’ll have to wait a little longer to watch Barnes say the line Bardugo was most excited to hear: “Fine. Make me your villain.”
