Shadow and Bone casts some fan favorites for season 2

The second season of Netflix’s Shadow and Bone begins production Thursday — and adds some new actors to the roster.

New to the cast are Anna Leong Brophy (Back, Traces) and Lewis Tan (Mortal Kombat) as Tamar Kir-Bataar and Tolya Yul-Bataar, twin Grisha mercenaries who work under the privateer Sturmhond; Jack Wolfe (The Magic Flute) as Wylan Hendricks, which is most likely the alias of popular Six of Crows character Wylan Van Eck; and Patrick Gibson (The OA) as Nikolai Lantsov, prince of Ravka.

Photo: Katalin Vermes/Netflix

Additionally, Danielle Galligan (Nina Zenik), Daisy Head (Genya Safin), and Callahan Skogman (Matthias Helvar) have all been promoted to series regulars, so expect to see more of their characters this season. That’s not surprising for Genya, who ends up playing a big part in the later books of the main trilogy, but considering that Matthias and Nina were not originally in the trilogy, it’ll be interesting to see how they are adapted into the story.

The first season of Shadow and Bone followed the events of Leigh Bardugo’s book of the same name — but neatly folded in the characters from her other books and, in fact, augmented the original storyline. The series follows orphan Alina (Jessie Mei Li), who discovers that she has a rare Grisha power to summon sunlight, after mysterious General Kirigan (Ben Barnes) plucks her from the ranks of the nonmagical army and brings her to train. Along the way, she learns more about her own powers and the actual secrets behind the tangible swath of darkness that splits the country in two. Also: There’s a gang of criminals pulling off a heist; Alina’s childhood best friend, who will stop at nothing to be reunited with her; and a Grisha Hunter and Grisha spy working together to survive in a frozen wasteland.

The second season will likely follow the events of Siege and Storm, the next book in the trilogy, but with some added plot lines. There is no set date for the premiere of season 2. Check out a video from the cast introducing the new actors.