- RMD and Ayra Starr has joined the cast of a Hollywood film adaptation of Children of Blood and Bone
- The singer who just made her debut into the American film industry, Hollywood was announced alongside other Nigerian acts and more.
Afrobeats superstar Ayra Starr and veteran Nollywood actor Richard Mofe–Damijo are among the latest names joining the film adaptation of Tomi Adeyemi’s bestselling novel, Children of Blood and Bone.
This is Ayra Starr’s debut in Hollywood, and it comes shortly after she made her first appearance in a Nollywood movie.
Also confirmed to be joining the highly anticipated production are Pamilerin Ayodeji, Shamz Garuba, British-Nigerian basketball player Temi Fagbenle, Zackary Momoh, Kola Bodunde, and Saniyya Sidney.
They join an already stacked lineup led by South African actress Thuso Mbedu, who takes on the role of Zélie, the young woman at the heart of the story. Tosin Cole will play her older brother Tzain, while Amandla Stenberg and Damson Idris portray Princess Amari and Prince Inan. Chiwetel Ejiofor is set to play King Saran, with Academy Award winner Regina King as Queen Nehanda.
The film also features an impressive lineup of award-winning stars, including EGOT Viola Davis, Idris Elba, Cynthia Erivo, and Lashana Lynch.
Children of Blood and Bone is an American fantasy film based on Tomi Adeyemi’s novel of the same name. The movie which is directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood is scheduled for release in the United States on January 15, 2027
Children of Blood and Bone is set in the mythical kingdom of Orïsha, where the maji once possessed powerful magic before King Saran sought to eliminate it. After the Raid left many maji dead and the survivors powerless, Zélie stumbles upon a way to bring magic back. Alongside her brother Tzain and Princess Amari, who rebels against her father’s rule, she embarks on a dangerous journey to restore what was lost. But standing in their way is Prince Inan, who is determined to stop them at all costs.
The producer is Lucasfilm, the studio behind Star Wars.
In 2018, Nigerian-American writer Tomi Adeyemi’s novel landed her a seven-figure book-and-movie deal with Hollywood Fox studios for Children of Blood and Bone, her first novel. The book is said to be a “Black Lives Matter-inspired fantasy novel”.
The 31-year-old Adeyemi is the daughter of a Nigerian medical doctor and hospice trader, was born in the US, and currently lives in San Diego.
Adeyemi, often called the next J.K. Rowling (the writer of the successful Harry Potter series), created an epic tale of an oppressive world that many black people can relate to.
