The first official trailer for Children of Blood and Bone arrived on Tuesday afternoon, July 28, 2026, giving fans their most substantial look yet at the long-awaited screen adaptation. The film is based on Tomi Adeyemi’s 2018 bestselling novel of the same name, acquired by Paramount Pictures, and is set for a theatrical and IMAX release on January 15, 2027.

From visionary filmmaker Gina Prince-Bythewood, the world of Orïsha comes to life. Watch the Official Trailer for Children Of Blood And Bone – only in theatres and IMAX January 15, 2027. pic.twitter.com/LCzUYxbLwG

— Children of Blood and Bone (@ChildrenofBandB) July 28, 2026

The nearly three-minute teaser opens by introducing its principal cast: Viola Davis as Mama Agba, Cynthia Erivo as Commander Kaea, Damson Idris as Prince Inan, Amandla Stenberg as Princess Amari, and Thuso Mbedu as lead character Zélie Adebola. A voiceover from Lashana Lynch, who plays Zélie’s mother Jumoke, sets up the mythology of the fantasy kingdom of Orïsha and the magic once flowing through its people before King Saran, played by Chiwetel Ejiofor, violently stripped it away. “You were born with a gift greater than you know, but those who fear our power took it away from us,” Jumoke tells her daughter. 

And King Saran doubles down on his hostility by telling his son, Prince Inan, that magic is “a festering disease” to be purged. Mama Agba, who has trained Zélie in secret, reassures her that “your powers may be gone, but that doesn’t change who you are,” before revealing her belief that Zélie is “the one” who can restore magic to Orïsha. The trailer also teases a charged dynamic between Zélie and Inan, who begins to question his father’s brutality, telling her “you have unravelled me,” while Commander Kaea warns of the threat Zélie poses: “She has the ability to annihilate us all.” It closes on Zélie showing that ability, channelling earth and dust magic against several armed warriors who had surrounded her in a dense forest.

Damson Idris is Inan. #ChildrenOfBloodAndBone – only in theatres and IMAX January 15, 2027. pic.twitter.com/23y055GOp7

— Children of Blood and Bone (@ChildrenofBandB) July 28, 2026

Director Gina Prince-Bythewood leans into Yoruba and Nigerian visual language throughout; from stilt villages echoing Lagos’s Makoko community to woven garments, body paint, and headwraps that ground the fantasy in specific cultural texture. Warm earth tones for Zélie’s people sit against the monarchy’s cold metallic armour, visually reinforcing the story’s class divide. The combat, building on Prince-Bythewood’s work on The Woman King, moves fluidly between grounded staff-based martial arts and elemental magic. It all traces back to Adeyemi’s novel, which follows Zélie’s mission to restore magic to Orïsha after King Saran’s forces slaughter her people, the maji, including her own mother.

The trailer’s supporting cast also spotlights a strong Nigerian presence, both on screen and behind the film’s growing cultural footprint. Nollywood icon Richard Mofe-Damijo (RMD), who appears behind King Saran in the trailer, joins the ensemble, alongside Grammy-nominated singer Ayra Starr, making her acting debut, and newcomers Tèmítópé Fágbénlé, Kola Bodunde, Shamz Garuba, and Pamilerin Afolake Ayodeji, who were selected through a public casting call. Their inclusion adds to a soundtrack already stacked with Nigerian talent: Tems (Executive Producer), Burna Boy (Executive Music Consultant), Fireboy DML, BNXN, and Ayra Starr are all attached to the film’s music, reinforcing Orïsha’s roots in Nigerian culture well beyond the lead cast.

The trailer’s release comes on the back of months of off-screen drama. Casting choices, particularly Stenberg’s as the “copper complexion” Amari, drew sustained backlash over colourism, while Adeyemi herself shocked fans in recent weeks by announcing she was no longer involved in the film’s decision-making, without offering a clear reason for the split. She has said she does not plan to watch the film when it releases, though she has stopped short of asking fans to do the same.

not after defending the casting choice is she saying she will not watch the children of blood and bone movie or support it! pic.twitter.com/tY39u8ul97

— • (@chaoticblkgirl) July 4, 2026

Despite the fallout, Adeyemi remains credited as co-writer of the screenplay alongside Prince-Bythewood. Whatever tension exists behind the scenes, her fingerprints remain on the story arriving in theatres this January.