“Children of Blood and Bone” are on their way.
The hugely anticipated adaptation of Tomi Adeyemi’s bestselling fantasy novel arrives from Paramount Pictures early next year. But the brand-new trailer has arrived, offering our first glimpse at what we can expect from Gina Prince-Bythewood’s film. Watch it below.
Adeyemi’s novel, the first in her Legacy of Orïsha trilogy, was an attempt at making a YA fantasy story that was steeped not in European tradition but in the mythology of Africa. It was hailed by critics and readers as something special, both familiar and wholly unique, with two more books (2019’s “Children of Virtue and Vengeance” and 2024’s “Children of Anguish and Anarchy”) following.
Thuso Mbedu, who made her film debut in Prince-Bythewood’s “The Woman King,” stars as Zélie, “a young woman who goes on a quest to reclaim the magic that was violently stolen from her people. She and her brother ally with the daughter and son of the king to fight back against his brutal rule.”
The rest of the cast is genuinely incredible and includes (but is not limited to) Damson Idris, Amandla Stenberg, Tosin Cole, Cynthia Erivo, Lashana Lynch, Zackary Momoh, Richard Mofe-Damijo, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Regina King, Idris Elba and Viola Davis.
Prince-Bythewood and Adeyemi co-wrote the screenplay, with Wyck Godfrey, John Fischer, Isaac Klausner, Karen Rosenfelt and Matt Jackson serving as producers. Jeff Waxman, Jennifer Madeloff, Adeyemi, Reggie Rock Bythewood, Marty Bowen, Pete Chiappetta, Anthony Tittanegro, Andrew Lary, Sophie Cassidy and Zack Conroy are executive producers.
The development history of the film version of “Children of Blood and Bone” is long and storied, with Fox 2000 buying the rights even before the novel had been published in 2017. In 2019, Rick Famuyiwa was announced as the director, but after Disney completed its acquisition of the 21st Century Fox assets, it shuttered the Fox 2000 unit and moved the project to Lucasfilm, where it was overseen, for a time, by Kathleen Kennedy and intended as another new franchise to be fostered. By 2021, it had been put into turnaround, with Lucasfilm focusing on its homegrown franchises. Paramount picked up the rights and guaranteed it a theatrical release in 2022 and here we are, finally on the cusp of its release.
But the positivity only lasted so long. Earlier this month, Adeyemi, in a since-deleted social post, wrote, “There is a reason I will not post anything about the adaptation of my work. That’s all.” She refused to elaborate, which left everyone very confused as to what went down on the project and why she was retreating from its promotion. (Indeed, there was an event in New York City on Monday night held for the launch event and the author was not in attendance.)
“Children of Blood and Bone” debuts exclusively in theaters on Jan. 15, 2027.
