A feature adaptation of bestselling fantasy novel Children of Blood and Bone planned for Fox 2000 is going ahead under the new Disney leadership, and Deadline reports that Lucasfilm is set to produce since the project caught studio chief Kathleen Kennedy’s attention. Nigerian-American author Tomi Adeyemi’s tale of a gifted young woman a mission to bring magic back to her world would be the studio’s first film outside the Star Wars and Indiana Jones franchises since it was acquired by Walt Disney Co.
WGA Award nominee Kay Oyegun (This Is Us) is on deck to write a new script for the film, which has Image Award-winning writer/director Rick Famuyiwa (Dope, Talk to Me, The Chi) attached to direct. Famuyiwa is directing episodes of the Disney+ Star Wars series The Mandalorian, premiering later this year, and has been tapped for Sony’s graphic novel adaptation Son of Shaolin.
Original producers Marty Brown, Isaac Klausner and John Fischer (Temple Hill), Karen Rosenfelt (Sunswept Ent.) and Famuyiwa (VERSE) will continue to be involved.
Children of Blood and Bone was published in 2018 by Holt Books for Young Readers. The second book in the Legacy of Orisha series, Children of Virtue and Vengeance, is due later this year.
Book synopsis: Zélie Adebola remembers when the soil of Orïsha hummed with magic. Burners ignited flames, Tiders beckoned waves, and Zélie’s Reaper mother summoned forth souls. But everything changed the night magic disappeared. Under the orders of a ruthless king, maji were killed, leaving Zélie without a mother and her people without hope. Now, Zélie has one chance to bring back magic and strike against the monarchy.
With the help of a rogue princess, Zélie must outwit and outrun the crown prince, who is hell-bent on eradicating magic for good. Danger lurks in Orïsha, where snow leoponaires prowl and vengeful spirits wait in the waters. Yet the greatest danger may be Zélie herself as she struggles to control her powers and her growing feelings for an enemy.
[Source: Deadline]
