Photo: Lephatse Motshana/Paramount Pictures
If you want a sense of how excited a movie studio is about a film, just ask yourself: “Did they license a Beyoncé song for the first trailer?” Paramount just dropped the inaugural trailer for Children of Blood and Bone, its upcoming adaptation of Tomi Adeyemi’s successful young-adult novel of the same name, and it is jam-packed. The story is set in the fictional kingdom of Orïsha and follows a young girl’s attempts to bring back magic after the king kills her mother for her power. Starring Thuso Mbedu (The Underground Railroad) in the lead role of Zélie, the trailer teases its all-star supporting cast, which features Damson Idris, Amandla Stenberg, Viola Davis, Regina King, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Idris Elba, and Cynthia Erivo. All that plus Beyoncé’s “Energy” from Renaissance soundtracking Zélie in full magic mode and creating a monster out of sticks to bash her enemies with.
Ahead of the trailer’s release, Adeyemi has actively distanced herself from the adaptation on social media. She is still credited as a co-screenwriter on the project, alongside director Gina Prince-Bythewood (The Old Guard), but she has made it clear in posts that she is not happy with the film. “There is a reason I will not post anything about the adaptation of my work. That’s all,” she posted on July 4. “From this point on, if you want to support me, you can purchase any edition of the trilogy at a local independent children’s bookstore.” She also posted a screenshot of her messaging Stenberg, who she then blocked. “Do not ever use my name in an interview or video again,” she wrote to the star. “Do not text me. Do not call me.” Adeyemi posted the messages in a since-deleted TikTok, responding to a confused fan asking why she was distancing herself from something she co-wrote. “All final decisions are the director’s and they always have been,” she replied. “If you were told they were mine, you were lied to on purpose.” It seems like there is no good energy between the author and the movie.
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