Is Six of Crows happening? Everything we know about the possible Shadow and Bone spinoff

Shadow and Bone season 2 is now on Netflix, as of Thursday, March 16, 2023. As fans start finishing the new season of the Netflix original, they’re asking what’s next for Alina, Mal, the Darkling, and of course, the Crows in Shadow and Bone season 3.

Well, as it turns out, there’s been a new development about season 3 and a potential Six of Crows spinoff.

“Six of Crows?” you ask. Yes, Six of Crows. It’s the fourth book of Leigh Bardugo’s Grishaverse, following the Shadow and Bone trilogy. It’s the first book of the duology followed by Crooked Kingdom. There are two other Grishaverse books, King of Scars and Rule of Wolves.

So, what’s the latest on Six of Crows? We shared everything we know about the potential spinoff so far.

Is Netflix making Six of Crows?

There are a lot of people, myself included, who thought the Six of Crows stories were going to happen in Shadow and Bone season 2. The creators went in a different direction with the story, but we did learn a lot about Kaz, Inej, Jesper, Wylan, Nina, and Matthias.

According to a report from Entertainment Weekly, Eric Heisserer, the showrunner of Shadow and Bone, confirmed Six of Crows is in development. It’s not confirmed that Netflix is making the series. It’s largely dependent on how well Shadow and Bone does, according to the showrunner.

"“There’s a lot of work that’s gone into the planning of this. The hope is then we get to act on that planning,” Heisserer says. “But of course, it’s about how well season 2 numbers do. And if so, then Daegan and I will continue to carry the mantle of both shows, which is also helpful because we have a lot of mouths to feed” — in terms of giving screen time to all the actors. “To be able to give them their own real estate so they have elbow room allows us to go deeper on some of these character arcs.”"

So, Netflix has not officially ordered Six of Crows yet. A lot of it depends on how well the new season of Shadow and Bone does, and if people are interested in more episodes with these great characters.

Six of Crows is written, but it’s in the early stages

Heisserer also confirmed there are eight episodes of Six of Crows written, and that’s a really good sign. He mentioned that’s one of the reasons he was the co-showrunner on Shadow and Bone season 2.

"“The eight-episode scripts are phenomenal and I’m really proud of my team for those.”"

But, there’s a lot of work to be done to get the show across the finish line. The pre-production phase is only part of the equation in bringing a show to life, and the next part is attaching the cast, production, and post-production. That’s a huge task to do the Six of Crows story justice, in my opinion. It also opens a lot of questions about how it would impact Shadow and Bone season 3.

Obviously, the episode count, while eight episodes now, could change. It all comes down to what Netflix wants to do with the series.

Spoilers below for Shadow and Bone season 2! 

What would the spinoff mean for Shadow and Bone season 3?

What’s so interesting and kind of confusing to me is why this show needs to be its own season. The Shadow and Bone trilogy does not include the Crows, for the most part, but they were a major, major, major part of the first two seasons.

Additionally, Shadow and Bone season 2 covered the events of both Ruin and Rising and Seige and Storm, the final books of the Shadow and Bone trilogy. So, it’s like, what’s next for Alina, Nikolai, Mal, and the rest of the gang?

Obviously, after seeing the end of Shadow and Bone season 2, we know about jurda parem, which opens up the whole Ice Court story. The end of season 2 also hints at the story from King of Scars and Rule of Wolves happening in Shadow and Bone season 3 and beyond.

According to EW, Six of Crows and Shadow and Bone season 3 can happen together, and it would happen alongside those final scenes.

"“A good chunk of what you see in the Crow’s side story” would be happening simultaneously with the events of Nikolai’s coronation, Heisserer confirms. He also clarifies that Suman’s Inej would return for the spin-off. “Obviously, we’re not gonna keep Inej out of that,” he says. “We’re gonna bring her back. So you understand then how many weeks it has been since she’s been on the high seas and then returning to Ketterdam.”"

So, reading between the lines, Six of Crows is starting during Nikolai’s coronation. That means it could take place before or at the same time as Shadow and Bone season 3. My guess is that we’d do Six of Crows and then move forward with Shadow and Bone season 3, like story-wise, but it’s much easier to get a new season rolling than start a new whole show. The good news is that some of the sets have already been built for Shadow and Bone and this world is already established.

Storywise, I’d expect Shadow and Bone season 3 to stay in Ravka with Alina’s story, Nikolai’s story, and Mal’s story, while the Crows venture into Fjerda during their spinoff.

Spoilers below for what goes down in Six of Crows! 

Who are the Six of Crows?

There was a joke of sorts at the end of Shadow and Bone season 2. Jesper says he wants them to be known as the Four Charming Rogues of Ketterdam, and then Kaz says, but there’s five of us. Then, Jesper starts to say they should be called the “Five of Crows” before getting cut off.

There are six crows in the books. You know all of them if you watch Shadow and Bone:

• Kaz Brekker
• Inej Jaffa
• Jesper Fahey
• Wylan Van Eck (Wylan Hendriks in the Netflix show)
• Nina Zenik
• Matthias Helvar

Together, this ragtag group of thieves tries to do the impossible: breaking into the most fortified place in Fjerda, the Ice Court.

What is Six of Crows about?

The timeline in Six of Crows is a little tricky in the world of Netflix’s Shadow and Bone. It’s going to happen (if it happens) during Nikolai’s coronation and run parallel to those stories in Ravka. That’s not necessarily exactly how it goes down in the books. Well, it kind of is, but we know so much more about the Crows now. They could really launch into this story without much set up.

Basically, in Six of Crows, the Crows are hired to break Bo Yul-Bayur, a Shu scientist who developed jurda parem, out of the Ice Court in Fjerda. It’s impenetrable. It can’t be done, but the Crows take on the task anyway, and they break Matthias out of Hellgate to make it happen. He knows the inner workings of the Ice Court being Fjerdan and all.

After fighting off Pekka Rollins and his gang and a bunch of Grisha, they finally arrive at the Ice Court to pull off the heist. An epic heist ensues that does not at all go according to plan!

That’s all you’re getting out of me!

Shadow and Bone is one of the best shows on Netflix right now! Check it out and make sure to watch all the way through so Netflix orders Six of Crows and Shadow and Bone season 3.