Before it hits IMAX screens nationwide on January 15, 2027, Paramount Pictures’ Children of Blood and Bone is teasing the film at the 24th annual Martha’s Vineyard African American Film Festival. Director Gina Prince-Bythewood and star Thuso Mbedu will be on hand August 7 for an exclusive footage preview opening the festival, followed by a Color of Conversation panel with the two.
Based on Tomi Adeyemi’s No. 1 bestselling novel, the film is set in the West African-inspired mystical kingdom of Orisha and follows Zélie, played by Mbedu, a young woman who embarks on a dangerous quest to restore the magic violently stolen from her people. Alongside her brother Tzain and Princess Amari, she finds herself in a rebellion against the ruthless King Saran.
The cast is stacked. Thuso Mbedu leads as Zélie, with Amandla Stenberg as Amari, Tosin Cole as Tzain and Damson Idris as Inan. Also starring are Viola Davis, Regina King, Cynthia Erivo, Idris Elba, Lashana Lynch, Chiwetel Ejiofor as King Saran, Saniyya Sidney, Zackary Momoh, Diaana Babnicova, Bukky Bakray, Temi Fagbenle, Richard Mofe-Damijo, Nigerian singer Ayra Starr and Pamilerin Ayodeji and Shamz Garuba, both discovered through an open casting call in Nigeria.
“To open this festival with Children of Blood and Bone, a film rooted in imagination, heritage and Black excellence, and to have Gina and Thuso with us is an extraordinary moment for our community,” said MVAAFF founders Floyd and Stephanie Rance. “We’re honored that Paramount Pictures has chosen Martha’s Vineyard as one of the first places audiences will experience what we believe will become one of the defining films of this generation.”
The preview comes amid some behind-the-scenes turbulence. Adeyemi, who co-wrote the screenplay and served as executive producer, publicly distanced herself from the adaptation last week, posting on TikTok that she has not seen the finished film and will not watch it. “I’m just laying down my sword and officially separating my name,” she wrote, without elaborating further on the specific nature of her departure. Paramount and those involved with the production have not responded to her posts.
The festival, an Oscar-qualifying event and one of the nation’s leading showcases for Black storytelling, runs August 7 through 15 at the Martha’s Vineyard Performing Arts Center in Oak Bluffs, Massachusetts. ESPN 30 for 30 returns as presenting sponsor and New York Magazine’s The Cut serves as the official media partner.
Additional screenings include Netflix documentaries The Baddest Speechwriter of All and Jean-Michel Basquiat; Roku Originals’ Gamechangers: Mother/Athlete, directed by Christine Turner and featuring WNBA trailblazer Sheryl Swoopes; independent features Black is Beautiful: The Kwame Brathwaite Story and Romare Bearden: A Life in Collage; and Soul Patrol, the documentary about the untold story of the Vietnam War’s first Black special ops team, with a discussion moderated by Henry Louis “Skip” Gates Jr. and Secretary John Kerry. The Storyteller’s Lab will also host a special screening of Route 187 from Tyler Perry Studios to bring HBCU students together with industry leaders.