The First Trailer for ‘Children of Blood and Bone’ Debuts

The first trailer for Gina Prince-Bythewood’s film adaptation of Children of Blood and Bone is here. Director Bythewood’s film is adapted from the popular 2018 book from Tomi Adeyemi. Despite headline-grabbing behind-the-scenes drama, Prince-Bythewood’s movie has been one of the year’s most anticipated. 

The film stars Thuso Mbedu as Zélie, who sets out on a quest to restore the magic that was stolen from the kingdom of Orïsha. She and her older brother Tzain (Tosin Cole) join with the children of the ruthless King Saran, portrayed by Chiwetel Ejiofor, in battle for the kingdom. Damson Idris and Amandla Stenberg star as the children of King Saran, with an all-star cast that includes Cynthia Erivo, Lashana Lynch, Zackary Momoh, Richard Mofe-Damijo, Regina King, Idris Elba, and Viola Davis. Mbedu, Davis and Lynch also starred in Prince-Bythewood’s last project, 2022’s The Woman King.

The trailer arrives on the heels of controversy, as author Adeyemi has distanced herself from the project. Despite co-writing the script with Prince-Bythewood, Deadline reported in early July that Adeyemi shared a since-deleted TikTok video instructing fans to support her original work. And she shared what appeared to be a text exchange with film star Stenberg, saying: “Do not ever use my name in an interview or video again. Do not text me. Do not call me.”

“There is a reason I will not post anything about the adaptation of my work. That’s all,” Adeyemi wrote in DMs she shared on TikTok. “And lastly since someone asked – I have not seen the film, and I will not watch it. It’s been painful holding this back from you all. … And I’m sorry if any of you thought I didn’t care about US. More than any glitter.”

You can watch the trailer for Children of Blood and Bone below:

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