For years now, the fantasy adventure Children of Blood and Bone has been adapted for the big screen. The project has already failed twice. Now there is new hope
In 2018, the US-Nigerian author Tomi Adeyemi published the novel Children of Blood and Bone. Just one year before the acclaimed young adult story reached a wide readership, Hollywood became aware of the book and took the first steps towards a film adaptation.
Six years later, the movie has still not been released. As Variety reports, this is now set to change. Gina Prince-Bythewood, who most recently brought the historical action film The Woman King to the cinema, is taking on the long-awaited screen adaptation of Children of Blood and Bone as director for Paramount Pictures.
New fantasy adventure: Children of Blood and Bone takes you into a world full of magic and abysses
The story of the fantasy adventure tells of a heroine named Zélie Adebola. She belongs to a group of people with magical abilities, the Maji, who are oppressed by the ruling class, the Kosidáns, in the kingdom of Orïsha. After many years of darkness, Zélie could bring balance
(Children of Blood and Bone)
The premise sounds like the perfect template for a new fantasy series à la Harry Potter, Percy Jackson and co. That’s what Fox 2000 Pictures and Temple Hill Productions thought in 2017 and hired Dope director Rick Famuyiwa for the adaptation. However, following the purchase of Fox by Disney, Fox 2000 was discontinued.
Read more: Successful fantasy rescue: First reviews of Percy Jackson
Children of Blood and Bone then moved to the Lucasfilm studio, which is under the Disney umbrella. Lucasfilm was to bring the project to theaters in collaboration with 20th Century Studios (formerly 20th Century Fox). Kay Oyegun, known for the drama series This Is Us, was hired as screenwriter.
However, this version did not materialize either. One of the main reasons: Lucasfilm recently focused exclusively on expanding its own brands (Star Wars, Willow and Indiana Jones). As a result, Paramount was able to secure the rights to Children of Blood and Bone and initiate the current version of the project.
