“Chidlren of Blood and Bone” is (finally) headed to the big screen.
And ahead of the January 15, 2027 release, the first footage from the Gina Prince-Bythewood-directed film was just screened at CinemaCon in Las Vegas. Prince-Bythewood was on hand to present the footage, along with stars Thuso Mbedu, Damson Idris, Amandla Stenberg, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Regina King, who gave the audience their first glimpse at the fantasy epic, based on the bestselling novel by Tomi Adeyemi.
Prince-Bythewood was joined by Ejiofor, King, Stenberg, and Idris to show the first footage, which shows a group of women in the fictional African kingdom of Orisha training in secret. One of those women, Zelie, played by Thuso Mbedu, finds a special scroll that awakens the powers of those born with magic sleeping within them, known as Diviners.
But the King of Orisha, Saran, played by Chiwetel Ejiofor, believes that the Diviners will tear his kingdom apart and orders his soldiers to hunt Zelie and her brother, Tzain, played by Tosin Cole.
But unbeknownst to King Saran, his own children, Prince Inan and Princess Amari, played by “F1” star Damson Idris and Amandla Stenberg, have plans of their own and become allies of Zelie and Tzain as they seek to perform a ritual that will renew the bond between the Diviners and the gods that give them their powers.
Cynthia Erivo, Lashana Lynch, Zackary Momoh, Richard Mofe-Damijo, Regina King, Idris Elba, and Viola Davis also star.
The first novel in the trilogy was released in 2018, with Fox 2000 quickly snapping up the rights and attaching Rick Famuyiwa as director. But when Disney acquired the 21st Century Fox assets the following year (and shuttered Fox 2000), the project was moved into development under Lucasfilm, with Kathleen Kennedy running point on the adaptation alongside 20th Century’s chairman Emma Watts. It would have been the division’s first new live-action property since acquiring Lucasfilm in 2012.
Eventually, the rights lapsed, with Lucasfilm choosing to instead focus on its “Star Wars” and “Indiana Jones” brands, with Paramount Pictures acquiring the rights to the novel. (Adeyemi later said she was bothered by the glacial pace of development at Disney and their refusal to allow her to author the screenplay.) Quickly, Paramount set Prince-Bythewood as director and began filling out their all-star cast.
Prince-Bythewood and Adeymei ultimately wrote the screenplay, with Wyck Godfrey, Marty Bowen, Isaac Klausner, Karen Rosenfelt and Matt Jackson producing and Paramount partnering with Domain Entertainment and 2.0 Entertainment.
