Gina Prince-Bythewood is set to direct the Paramount Pictures adaptation of Tomi Adeyemi’s bestselling Young Adult novel “Children of Blood and Bone.”
The action fantasy story revolves around Zélie Adebola, a maji—a magic practitioner, who strives to restore magic to the kingdom of Orïsha after the oppressive rule of the kosidáns. It has been described as an epic allegory about the Black experience.
Paramount acquired the rights to the book in 2022 after previous adaptation attempts by Fox2000 and Disney’s Lucasfilm faced obstacles.
Gina Prince-Bythewood will work on a new draft of the script, collaborating with Tomi Adeyemi, who will also serve as an executive producer alongside Reggie Rock Bythewood.
The film will be produced by Wyck Godfrey, Marty Bowen, Karen Rosenfelt, and Matt Jackson, according to the Deadline.
Gina Prince-Bythewood, known for her work in the action genre, recently directed “The Woman King” and the Netflix hit “The Old Guard.”
Her extensive filmography includes acclaimed movies like “The Secret Life of Bees,” “Beyond the Lights,” and “Love & Basketball.”
“Children of Blood and Bone” and its sequel, “Children of Virtue and Vengeance,” achieved No. 1 rankings on the NY Times bestseller list.
The third and final book in the trilogy, titled “Children of Anguish and Anarchy,” is set to be published on June 25, 2024.
Paramount’s senior VP of production, Mika Pryce, will oversee the project for the studio. The news of Gina Prince-Bythewood’s involvement was first reported by Deadline.
