Even before it was released to the public, Tomi Adeyemi’s literary debut, Children of Blood and Bone, hadalready secured a film adaptation deal. That was eight years ago, and after a long development process, everything is in place for production to begin on the film.
A fantasy novel. The first in a
series, it is set in Orïsha. This fictional country draws inspiration from Yoruba culture and spirituality in the pre-colonial Southwest and parts of North-Central Nigeria.
In the first book, protagonist Zélie Adebola fights to restore the powers and dignity of her people, who have long suffered under the oppressive rule of a cruel king. Within its well-crafted world-building, and fantasy elements that are vivid even on the page, the book weaves in themes of colorism, classism-fuelled wickedness and the trauma they can cause. “The book is about living in a society that teaches you to hate what makes you magical,” Adeyemitold BlackCosmopolitan a month after the novel was released.
In 2017, Fox 2000 Pictures acquired the film adaptation rights to Children of Blood and Bone. In early 2019, director Rick Famuyiwa, known for his work on Dope, Brown Sugar, and six episodes of The Mandalorian, was brought on to direct the film. Later that year, Kay Oyegun, one of Black Cosmopolitan’s 100 women in 2018, was announced as the film’s scriptwriter.
Due to Disney acquiring the majority stake in 21st Century Fox in 2019, which effectively shuttered Fox 2000, the adaptation project moved to Lucasfilm, the production company behind the Star Wars and Indiana Jones franchises that was also acquired by Disney in 2012. Children of Blood and Bone would’ve been Lucasfilm’s first live-action project since its acquisition by Disney, but production never quite took off.
The adaptation rights for Adeyemi’s novel went through a bidding process that lasted a couple of months, and it landed with Paramount Pictures in early 2022, with Adeyemi earning an increased role as the screenplay writer and executive producer. Adeyemi had asked to write the screenplay while Lucasfilm held the novel’s rights as part of efforts to speed up the process, but the production studio did not accept.
In late 2023, Gina Prince-Bythewood (Love & Basketball, The Woman King) joined the project as director, working alongside Adeyemi, who took a more active role in production. Last November, By the wood put out a casting call for male and female “actors living in Nigeria only” between the ages of 10 and mid-20s. The call triggered some excitement that local talent close to the Yoruba culture and spirituality that inspired the book’s setting would be cast in supporting roles if not major ones. While that remains a possibility, the recently announced main cast includes no actor living in Nigeria.
Children of Blood and Bone will feature a packed, star-studded cast, starring South African actor and crossover star Thuso Mbedu as Zélie Adebola. The ensemble cast includes popular Black actors based in the U.S. and the U.K., and several have strong connections to their African identity and the continent. British Nigerian actors Tosin Cole and Damson Idris will play the roles of Tzain, Zélie’s older brother, and Prince Inan, respectively, while the British actor Chiwetel Ejiofor stars as King Saran.
The rest of the cast includes Amandla Stenberg as Princess Amari, EGOT royalty Viola Davis, Golden Globe awardee Idris Elba, Wicked superstar Cynthia Erivo, BAFTA winner Lashana Lynch, and Academy Award winner Regina King, who will star as Queen Nehanda.
Barring unforeseen delays, the long-awaited film adaptation of Children of Blood and Bone will open in cinemas in mid-January 2027.
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For Education and discussion purposes. Please note no copyright infringement is intended, was recorded on BlkCosmo’s own equipment, and we do not own nor claim to own any of the original recordings used in this video and intend to use this as ‘fair use’.
