Cassandra Clare writes a ‘Shadowhunters’ FAQ
ABC Family’s Shadowhunters is scheduled to start filming in eight days so naturally The Mortal Instruments fans all over the world are very excited to see our beloved book series come to the small screen. Today Cassandra Clare published a FAQ on her website and her tumblr to share what she knows about Shadowhunters. Spoiler alert: it is just as much as we know because Cassie sold her rights and has no say in anything!
Shadowhunters Tv faqsy thing
I updated my TV FAQ on my website — long past due for doing that — and then it immediately crashed from traffic, so I thought I’d repost it here. I’ll try to keep my website updated as production goes on.
1) Who is in the cast?
Cast announced so far:
Katherine McNamara…Clary Fray
Dominic Sherwood…Jace Wayland
Alberto Rosende…Simon Lewis
Emeraude Toubia…Isabelle Lightwood
Matthew Daddario…Alec Lightwood
Isaiah Mustafa…Luke Garroway
Alan Van Sprang…Valentine Morgenstern
Harry Shum, Jr… Magnus Bane
2) Who would you like to play Sebastian/Maia/Jocelyn/Raphael/etc? What do you think of this actor I like for Sebastian/Maia/Jocelyn/Raphael/etc?
I feel like the casting team has done a great job so far, and I trust them to cast the future roles. I try not to participate in any kind of fan casting, or giving opinions on actors who have not been cast. If you are really dedicated, you could tweet to ABC Family, or to the casting director on Twitter, with your thoughts. 🙂
3) Have you met the cast?
No – at the moment we are on different continents. Hopefully I will meet them on set, since they will be filming through October. You can follow them on their Twitters.
4) When will they start filming?
The projected start date for filming is May 25.
5) When will the show air?
The likelihood is that the show will air in early 2016. There’s no specific date set yet, though.
6) Will the show air in other countries than the US and Canada?
Unfortunately, there’s no way for me to know that. You’re better off looking out for news in your own country.
7) Where’s the best place to get news and information about the show?
Well, TMI Source (www.tmisource.com) is a great resource. ABC Family is also running many of its own social media accounts, which are worth following:
https://www.facebook.com/ShadowhuntersSeries
http://shadowhuntersseries.tumblr.com
http://twitter.com/shadowhunterstv
https://instagram.com/shadowhunterstv/
8) Will Dominic dye his hair blond/Will Kat dye her hair more red/Will Matthew wear contacts?
I have absolutely no idea, and no influence over those kinds of decisions. I’ll probably find out when you do–when they release promo photos.
9) Are you involved with the scripts?
No, I am not involved with the scripts. I don’t know what happens in the show, and the scripts are embargoed, meaning that they are distributed to only a very few people, so that no information will leak.
10) But IMDB has you listed as the co-writer of the first episode!
IMDB is wrong. I am not a co-writer, or a staff writer, or a consultant on this show.
11) Why is Luke a police officer? Why is Simon an accounting student?
Again, I’m sorry, but I don’t know. I’m just not involved in those kinds of decisions. We will just have to wait and see how it plays out.
12) Do you like the cast?
Yes, I like the cast.
13) Do you know anything about who will be cast next?
I sure don’t! I have no idea literally about who is even being considered for other roles. And if I did, I am legally forbidden from saying so anyway. So asking me is sort of a wash.
14) Will the TV show take up where the film ended?
No. It is unrelated to the film. It is not like Buffy — it is a reboot. It begins from the beginning of the first book.
15) Will Raphael/Ragnor/Church be in it?
I don’t know. I only know who was cast, and that those characters will be in it since they cast them.
16) What happened to the cast of the movie? Didn’t you like the cast of the movie? Are you sad that the cast of the movie aren’t playing the roles in the TV show?
The cast of the movie are well and thriving doing other projects. I like them all very much, and consider it a privilege to have met them. The Mortal Instruments movie and the Shadowhunters TV show are two totally different projects made by totally different people, and therefore have different casts, just like they’ll have different sets and different scripts. I’m also a fan of the cast of the TV show, and don’t want to pick favorites as it seems hurtful to both parties.
Thanks for the shout-out, Cassie 🙂
Make sure to follow the twitter accounts of ShadowhuntersTV, our executive producer and director of the first episode, McG, the casting directors, Jonathan Clay Harris and Anthony Kraus, and the newly created ShadowhuntersWriters in case you want to tweet them.
TMI Source 
I’m guessing Jocelyn will be cast in the next few weeks
Well, before filming starts – surely she’s in the first episodes.
I really hope they bring in the fun and jokes of the books. Jace is pretty funny and sarcastic. I didn’t like that they made Jace in the movie so serious and unfunny. Please make him in the show a bit more light-hearted. Yes, he is very troubled, but he doesn’t show it all the time. That’s the point about Jace, only when he lets you in you really see how messed up he is.
If you have a twitter account you can tweet this to the authors (@ShadowhuntersWR),
I’m upset that Cassie has sold her rights 😢. I mean she would be a HUGE help when writing the script to make sure nothing goes wrong…
If Cassie hadn’t sold her rights, there wouldn’t have been a movie and there wouldn’t be a TV series. Maybe it’ll help to read this post: http://allycarter.com/2011/01/how-movies-happen/
I have so much respect for Cassie for not picking favorites of the 2 casts.
Why is she doing a Q&A if she has no idea (supposedly) what is going on. Authors, in general, need to stay out of movie, television, etc… With that said, I am excited about the show!!
That’s exactly what I was thinking. Why even post her answers if most of them are “I don’t know”….
She’s letting people know that she doesn’t know, because she is being asked these questions often by people who think that she knows.
She’s probably doing a Q&A to prove that she doesn’t know anything and to convince fans to stop to asking her questions that she can’t answer in the first place.
I hope the Series will be similiar to the books. I don’t like it when too much changed.
I really hope it comes here to South Africa
Me too
Well, at least things are clear : she’s not involved in the show at all. So it means producers can do everything they want with the scripts…Let’s hope it won’t be too different from the books (well excepted if it’s for gfilming more scenes with Magnus 😉 )