{"id":34014,"date":"2026-08-09T05:56:37","date_gmt":"2026-08-09T00:56:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=34014"},"modified":"2026-08-09T05:56:37","modified_gmt":"2026-08-09T00:56:37","slug":"gina-prince-bythewood-on-children-of-blood-and-bone-tomi-adeyemi-at-mvaaff","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=34014","title":{"rendered":"Gina Prince-Bythewood on &#8216;Children of Blood and Bone,&#8217; Tomi Adeyemi at MVAAFF"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div xmlns:default=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\">\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tFor the opening night of the 24th annual Martha\u2019s Vineyard African American Film Festival (<a href=\"https:\/\/variety.com\/t\/mvaaff\/\" id=\"auto-tag_mvaaff\" data-tag=\"mvaaff\">MVAAFF<\/a>), \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/variety.com\/t\/children-of-blood-and-bone\/\" id=\"auto-tag_children-of-blood-and-bone\" data-tag=\"children-of-blood-and-bone\">Children of Blood and Bone<\/a>\u201d director <a href=\"https:\/\/variety.com\/t\/gina-prince-bythewood\/\" id=\"auto-tag_gina-prince-bythewood\" data-tag=\"gina-prince-bythewood\">Gina Prince-Bythewood<\/a> and star <a href=\"https:\/\/variety.com\/t\/thuso-mbedu\/\" id=\"auto-tag_thuso-mbedu\" data-tag=\"thuso-mbedu\">Thuso Mbedu<\/a> shared never-before-seen clips of the forthcoming African fantasy film and dished about making the movie.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\t\u201cObviously films like this don\u2019t get made very often,\u201d Prince-Bythewood told \u201cThe View\u2019s\u201d Sunny Hostin during the Q&amp;A. \u201cThey say 70% of directing is casting, and that\u2019s what this was. To be able to put together a cast like this. There are no skips. Everybody is amazing. \u2026 And as I was working on the script, I started to envision people that I wanted.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tBased on <a href=\"https:\/\/variety.com\/t\/tomi-adeyemi\/\" id=\"auto-tag_tomi-adeyemi\" data-tag=\"tomi-adeyemi\">Tomi Adeyemi<\/a>\u2019s acclaimed 2018 novel of the same name, Paramount\u2019s \u201cChildren of Blood and Bone\u201d was shot on location in South Africa, which subbed in for the fictional kingdom of Or\u00efsha, where magic has been prohibited. There, the logline explains, \u201ca young woman goes on a quest to reclaim the magic that was violently stolen from her people. She and her brother ally with the daughter and son of the king to fight back against his brutal rule.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tMbedu (\u201cThe Underground Railroad,\u201d \u201cThe Woman King\u201d) stars as Z\u00e9lie Adebola, the young woman in question, who has the power to command the undead. Starring alongside her are Damson Idris as Prince Inan, Amandla Stenberg as Princess Amari, Tosin Cole as Z\u00e9lie\u2019s brother Tzain and Regina King as Queen Nehanda. Lashana Lynch, Idris Elba, Cynthia Erivo and Viola Davis round out the A-list cast.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tMbedu was thrilled to return to her native South Africa to work, and she began preparing for the role \u2014 including her stunt training \u2014 nearly one year before filming began. \u201cI leaned into the source material a lot,\u201d she said. \u201cI don\u2019t know how many times I read and reread the book, putting it next to the screenplay.\u201d (Prince-Bythewood and Adeyemi share screenplay credit.)<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\t\u201cTomi created a massive world, a huge world,\u201d Mbedu continued. \u201cWe don\u2019t have enough hours to put everything on screen. So finding the moments where, even if we\u2019re not seeing it on screen, how am I bringing the reality of the history or the backstory of what we might have meant into the next moment.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"post-content-image \/\/  size-large alignnone \">\n<figure class=\"o-figure  lrv-u-font-family-secondary u-color-medium-grey lrv-u-border-b-1 u-border-color-light-grey-tint-two u-margin-b-150 lrv-u-max-width-100p\" style=\"width:1024px\">\n<div class=\"c-lazy-image  \">\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"c-lazy-image__img lrv-u-background-color-grey-lightest lrv-u-width-100p lrv-u-display-block lrv-u-height-auto\" src=\"https:\/\/variety.com\/wp-content\/themes\/pmc-variety-2020\/assets\/public\/lazyload-fallback.gif\" data-lazy-src=\"https:\/\/variety.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/ATA_0335_43PMSU6M.jpeg?w=1024\" alt=\"\" data-lazy-srcset=\"https:\/\/variety.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/ATA_0335_43PMSU6M.jpeg 5000w, https:\/\/variety.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/ATA_0335_43PMSU6M.jpeg?resize=150,100 150w, https:\/\/variety.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/ATA_0335_43PMSU6M.jpeg?resize=300,200 300w, https:\/\/variety.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/ATA_0335_43PMSU6M.jpeg?resize=1920,1280 1920w, https:\/\/variety.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/ATA_0335_43PMSU6M.jpeg?resize=1360,907 1360w, https:\/\/variety.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/ATA_0335_43PMSU6M.jpeg?resize=1000,667 1000w, https:\/\/variety.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/ATA_0335_43PMSU6M.jpeg?resize=910,607 910w, https:\/\/variety.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/ATA_0335_43PMSU6M.jpeg?resize=681,454 681w, https:\/\/variety.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/ATA_0335_43PMSU6M.jpeg?resize=450,300 450w, https:\/\/variety.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/ATA_0335_43PMSU6M.jpeg?resize=250,167 250w\" data-lazy-sizes=\"(min-width: 87.5rem) 1000px, (min-width: 78.75rem) 681px, (min-width: 48rem) 450px, (max-width: 48rem) 250px\" height=\"683\" width=\"1024\" decoding=\"async\"\/><\/p><\/div><figcaption class=\"c-figcaption  lrv-u-flex lrv-u-flex-direction-column lrv-u-padding-t-1 lrv-u-padding-b-1\">\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"lrv-u-color-black lrv-u-line-height-normal lrv-u-font-size-14 u-font-family-neue u-letter-spacing-007-rem u-margin-b-050\">Thuso Mbedu, Gina Prince-Bythewood and Sunny Hostin attend the \u201cChildren of Blood and Bone\u201d clips and conversations event during the Martha\u2019s Vineyard African American Film Festival in Oak Bluffs, Mass.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<cite class=\"u-color-medium-grey u-font-family-neue-xxs\">Arnold Turner\/Getty Images for Paramount Pictures<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tThough the film does not debut until Jan.15, 2027, Adeyemi, who also served as an executive producer on the film, <a href=\"https:\/\/variety.com\/2026\/film\/news\/children-blood-bone-tomi-adeyemi-film-set-sobbing-1236823734\/\">recently announced that she will not watch the finished product<\/a>. On social media, Adeyemi shared that she left the \u201cChildren of Blood and Bone\u201d set \u201chyperventilating and sobbing\u201d and that she is \u201cstill being antagonized behind the scenes.\u201d Neither Prince-Bythewood nor Mbedu directly addressed Adeyemi\u2019s claims at MVAAFF, but the director of \u201cThe Woman King\u201d did speak positively about the novelist and the world she crafted.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\t\u201cTomi\u2019s a genius,\u201d Prince-Bythewood said. \u201cIt\u2019s a beautiful book, incredible characters. And this time when I read it, I was so connected to Lali\u2019s character. And this young woman who was fighting to bring magic back- and we know what magic means for us. And her resilience, her fight and her search for purpose just spoke to me.\u201d<br \/>\u200b<br \/>The \u201cLove and Basketball\u201d director also spoke about casting Stenberg as Princess Amari. When the actress\u2019 hiring was announced, there was an outcry over allegations of colorism due to Stenberg\u2019s mixed-race status and lighter skin tone. Additionally, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.latimes.com\/entertainment-arts\/story\/2026-07-09\/children-of-blood-bone-author-wont-see-film-after-feud\" rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">in a now-deleted TikTok video<\/a> [via the L.A. Times], Adeyemi posted what appeared to be a group chat that included Stenberg. The author wrote, \u201cDo not ever use my name in an interview or video again. Do not text me. Do not call me\u201d and appeared to block the actor. Prince-Bythewood did not address the drama onstage.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\t\u201cI\u2019ve admired [Amandla\u2019s] work since \u2018Colombiana,\u2019\u201d Prince-Bythewood told Hostin and the MVAAFF audience. \u201cBut I auditioned every young actor for that role of Amari, and Amandla took it, grabbed it.\u201d<br \/>\u200b<br \/>Though the \u201cChildren of Blood and Bone\u201d premiere is still several months away, \u201cThe Old Guard\u201d director is content to let the work speak for itself until then. <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\t\u201cYou\u2019re going to feel every human emotion in this,\u201d she said. \u201cYou\u2019re going to be angry, you\u2019re going to laugh, you\u2019re going to cry, you\u2019re going to dance, you\u2019re going to cheer, you\u2019re going to feel hope at the end. And that\u2019s why I hope we go to movies, to feel something, to be moved. So I\u2019m so excited about that. And as we know, these films are rare. I\u2019m so proud of this movie, so excited about this movie and the thing that it can do for us when we see ourselves in this way.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-instagram wp-block-embed-instagram\"\/>\n<\/div>\n<script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>For the opening night of the 24th annual Martha\u2019s Vineyard African American Film Festival (MVAAFF), \u201cChildren of Blood and Bone\u201d director Gina Prince-Bythewood and star Thuso Mbedu shared never-before-seen clips of the forthcoming African fantasy film and dished about making the movie. \u201cObviously films like this don\u2019t get made very often,\u201d Prince-Bythewood told \u201cThe View\u2019s\u201d&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":34015,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/variety.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/ATA_0200_vDcBIjgA.jpeg?crop=0px%2C151px%2C5000px%2C2813px&resize=1000%2C563","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-34014","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pics-news"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34014","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=34014"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34014\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/34015"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=34014"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=34014"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=34014"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}