Ever since Paramount Pictures picked up the rights to Tomi Adeyemi’s Children of Blood and Bone in 2022, they’ve had a great winter news update. In late 2023, it was that Gina Prince-Bythewood (The Old Guard) would direct the movie, and now it’s Variety‘s announcement of the film’s four stars: Thuso Mbedu (The Woman King, pictured above), Amandla Stenberg (The Acolyte), Damson Idris (Snowfall), and Tosin Cole (Doctor Who).
This quartet will play the film’s central roles: Mbedu is Zelie, who goes on a quest to bring magic back; Cole plays her older brother, Tzain; Stenberg is Princess Amari and Idris is Prince Inan, children of a terrible king who killed most magic-users.
The film’s larger ensemble is absolutely stacked with stars: Viola Davis as Mama Agba; Cynthia Erivo as Admiral Kaea; Idris Elba as Lekan; Lashana Lynch as Jumoke; and Chiwetel Ejiofor as King Saran. (This is something of a reunion for director Prince-Bythewood with three of her Woman King stars, Mbedu, Davis, and Lynch.)
There has been an adaptation of Children of Blood and Bone in the works for almost as long as the book has been on shelves; it was published in 2018, and the first adaptation news came just a year later. But the adaptation process being what it is—long, complicated, unpredictable—things kept changing, including the company set to release the film.
This casting announcement, though, is clear news that it’s really happening. And no surprise there: Children of Blood and Bone, which was a massive success on its publication, was followed by two sequels that were both bestsellers, and Adeyemi was named one of Time‘s most influential people in 2020. When Paramount bought the rights to the series, Deadline noted that it was “seen as one of the more substantial IPs since Hunger Games rights hit the market.”
Children of Blood and Bone is expected to begin filming soon. It’s set to premiere on January 15, 2027.
