The first trailer for Children of Blood and Bone will be released tomorrow, July 28, and in the meantime, a featurette takes us "behind the magic" and inside the world of Orïsha.
Featuring insights from director Gina Prince-Bythewood, production designer Hannah Beachler, costume designer Charlese Antoinette Jones, hair designer Andrea Mona Bowman, makeup designer Matiki Anoff, choreographer Fatima Robinson, and stunt coordinator Daniel Hernandez, there's also plenty of gorgeous footage from the upcoming big-screen adaptation of Tomi Adeyemi's novel.
The author has publicly disowned the movie, but the visuals are impressive, and everyone involved seems suitably enthusiastic. Throw in a big-name cast and some impressive set pieces, and Children of Blood and Bone could be a pleasant surprise...despite a January release date that doesn't necessarily indicate much confidence from Lionsgate.
If the movie works, then it could be a franchise starter, as there are two more books in the trilogy, Children of Virtue and Vengeance and Children of Anguish and Anarchy. It's unclear whether Adeyemi's agreement with Lionsgate covers those, though we'd assume it does.
"What's actually fascinating is that I was approached twice before over the last seven years to make this film and I turned it down both times," Prince-Bythewood previously revealed. "I don't know. I think one time I was doing The Woman King and the other time I think I just wasn't ready. But I guess 'the third time is a charm,' as they say."
"And this time when I read the book, I just felt so connected to this young hero's struggle to find her purpose and so inspired by her courage and her resilience and her fight. And I started to see the film, and when that happens, I know I have to make it. After The Old Guard and The Woman King, I knew how to make it. I think that was a big part of it as well."
"This is a huge epic fantasy with a beautiful cultural specificity, and it was a gift," the filmmaker added, "and I am so grateful that I got to be the one to bring this incredible world to life."
In the epic fantasy world of Orïsha, a young woman 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.
Directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood, Children of Blood and Bone features a stellar cast including Thuso Mbedu, Damson Idris, Amandla Stenberg, Tosin Cole, Academy Award nominee Cynthia Erivo, Lashana Lynch, Zackary Momoh, Richard Mofe-Damijo, Academy Award nominee Chiwetel Ejiofor, Academy Award winner Regina King, with Idris Elba and Academy Award winner Viola Davis.
Children of Blood and Bone will be released in theaters on January 15, 2027.