The first trailer for Children of Blood and Bone, the film adaptation of Tomi Adeyemi’s bestselling novel, is out.
Richard Mofe-Damijo (RMD) and Ayra Starr feature among several Nigerian names in the cast, led by South African actress Thuso Mbedu.
Directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood, the Africa-set fantasy drama stars Mbedu as Zélie, who sets out to reclaim magic stolen from her people. Viola Davis plays the seer Mama Agba, Idris Elba is high priest Lekan, and Chiwetel Ejiofor plays the oppressive King Saran.
Damson Idris plays Saran’s conflicted son, Inan, while Cynthia Erivo plays Commander Kaea, the king’s second-in-command. Regina King plays Queen Nehanda and Amandla Stenberg plays Princess Amari. Lashana Lynch plays Zélie’s mother, Jumoke, and Tosin Cole plays her brother, Tzain.
RMD and Ayra Starr join a wider Nigerian contingent that includes Bukky Bakray as Binta, alongside Zackary Momoh and Saniyya Sidney. Character details for Momoh and Sidney, along with roles for RMD and Ayra Starr, have not been disclosed.
The film adapts Adeyemi’s 2018 debut novel, the first 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 comes amid a rift between Adeyemi and the production. Though she co-wrote the screenplay with Prince-Bythewood, Adeyemi has said she will not promote the film. In a recent TikTok video, she shared a screenshot of a message stating she would not post about the film, and another reportedly sent to Stenberg instructing the actress never to mention Adeyemi’s name in interviews or contact her again — suggesting Stenberg had been blocked.
The trailer, scored to Beyoncé’s 2022 track “Energy,” follows Zélie’s coming-of-age journey as she evades Saran’s forces, with visual echoes of Ryan Coogler’s Black Panther films and Prince-Bythewood’s own The Woman King.
Children of Blood and Bone opens in cinemas on January 15, 2027.
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