The first trailer for the film adaptation of Tomi Adeyemi’s bestselling novel Children of Blood and Bone has been released, per hollywoodreporter.com.
Richard Mofe-Damijo (RMD) and Ayra Starr feature among a raft of Nigerian names in the cast for the film of the same name with an all-star cast led by South African actress Thuso Mbedu.
Directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood, the Africa-set fantasy drama sees Mbedu play protagonist Zélie, who journeys to reclaim magic violently stolen from her people. She is joined by Viola Davis as the seer Mama Agba, Idris Elba as high priest Lekan and Chiwetel Ejiofor as the oppressive King Saran.
Damson Idris plays Saran’s conflicted son, Inan, while Cynthia Erivo takes on the role of Commander Kaea, the king’s second-in-command. Regina King plays Queen Nehanda and Amandla Stenberg portrays Princess Amari, alongside Lashana Lynch as Zélie’s mother, Jumoke, and Tosin Cole as her brother, Tzain.
RMD and Ayra Starr join a broader Nigerian contingent that includes Bukky Bakray as Binta, alongside Zackary Momoh and Saniyya Sidney, whose character details have not yet been disclosed. Roles for RMD and Ayra Starr have similarly not been confirmed.
The film is based on Adeyemi’s 2018 debut novel, the first instalment in her Legacy of Orïsha trilogy and a New York Times bestseller. It reunites several stars of Prince-Bythewood’s 2022 film The Woman King, including Mbedu, Davis and Lynch.
The cast reveal had earlier come amid an unfolding rift between Adeyemi and the production. Although she co-wrote the screenplay with Prince-Bythewood, Adeyemi has said she will not promote the adaptation. In a recent TikTok video, she shared a screenshot of a message stating she would not post anything about the film, and a further message reportedly sent to Stenberg instructing her never to use Adeyemi’s name in interviews or to contact her again, suggesting the actress had been blocked.
The newly released clip, scored to Beyoncé’s 2022 track “Energy,” depicts Zélie’s coming-of-age journey and her evasion of Saran’s forces, with visual and stylistic echoes of Ryan Coogler’s Black Panther films and Prince-Bythewood’s own The Woman King, which also starred Mbedu, Davis and Lynch.
“Children of Blood and Bone” is scheduled for cinema release on January 15, 2027.