Children of Blood and Bone trailer brings Orïsha to the big screen

The Children of Blood and Bone trailer has given fans their first look at Orïsha on screen, with director Gina Prince-Bythewood and cast members unveiling the footage Monday night at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in New York.

The event, moderated by Lena Waithe, featured Prince-Bythewood alongside Thuso Mbedu, Regina King, Lashana Lynch, Tosin Cole and Zackary Momoh. The film adapts Nigerian-American author Tomi Adeyemi’s West African-inspired fantasy novel, a BookTok favorite whose world has lived for years in fan art, fancasts and reader debate.

What is Children of Blood and Bone about?

Children of Blood and Bone is set in the kingdom of Orïsha and follows Zélie Adebola, played by Mbedu, a young divîner trying to bring magic back after a king destroys the maji and bans their powers. The story draws on Nigeria, Yoruba mythology and wider African diaspora influences, according to Prince-Bythewood.

Prince-Bythewood told Waithe she had been asked to direct the adaptation three times over seven years and declined twice. She said she was “not emotionally ready” before making The Old Guard and The Woman King, films she credited with helping her gain the technical confidence and emotional perspective for Adeyemi’s world.

The director said she connected with Zélie as “this young hero who’s fighting to find her purpose” and viewed the adaptation as a chance to bring Black characters into a form of large-scale fantasy that Hollywood has rarely centered on them.

How did Gina Prince-Bythewood build Orïsha?

Prince-Bythewood said one guiding question for the production was how to make the magic feel cultural. She worked with Oscar-winning production designer Hannah Beachler, known for Black Panther, who researched Ethiopian palaces and ancient African civilizations while shaping the film’s kingdom.

Other departments followed that same approach. Costume designer Charlese Antoinette Jones brought her perspective as an Orisha priestess to the film’s colors and symbols. Hair designer Andrea Mona Bowman spent months working on Zélie’s white hair and the wider range of braids, textures and styles across the cast. Dialect coach Yetunde Felix-Ukwu developed the Orïshan language while keeping Yoruba pronunciation in view, according to the director.

Prince-Bythewood said the look of the magic was also influenced by research Beachler found on ultraweak photon emissions, the tiny amount of light emitted by living skin. The director said the idea helped shape the film’s visual language, alongside scarification traditions she wanted shown as beautiful rather than villainous.

The production shot in South Africa, with Prince-Bythewood saying she wanted practical sets and real locations where possible instead of surrounding actors with green screens. She described the result as “grounded fantasy” and said some locations required long drives and steep hikes.

Who is in the cast and soundtrack?

Mbedu plays Zélie, Cole plays her brother Tzain and Lynch plays their mother Jumoke. King plays Queen Nehanda, Momoh plays Baba, Amandla Stenberg plays Amari, Chiwetel Ejiofor plays King Saran, Damson Idris plays Inan and Cynthia Erivo plays Commander Kaea, according to the presentation materials.

Prince-Bythewood said the actors trained for months so they could perform much of the action themselves. Mbedu began training six months before filming, while Cole trained for four months for Tzain’s axe fighting.

The director also announced that Nigerian singer-songwriter Tems served as executive producer of the soundtrack, which Prince-Bythewood called a first for a woman at this scale. Burna Boy joined as executive music consultant, and the soundtrack includes three new Tems songs plus music from Fireboy DML, BNXN and Ayra Starr.

Children of Blood and Bone is scheduled to arrive in theaters on Jan. 15, 2027.

This story draws on original reporting from Mashable.