For years, Disney had the rights to adapt a particularly epic young adult fantasy book series, and now that it is being made by Paramount, Disney’s mistake is all too obvious. For a century now, Disney has been at the front and center of the entertainment industry. From cutting edge Disney animated features to live-action adaptations, the company clearly knows how to cater to its audience and make billions of dollars. Yet, Disney isn’t completely infallible, and when it makes mistakes, they are hard to ignore. One such error that Disney made was not acting soon enough.
In the current day, Disney is in a peculiar spot. The company is both incredibly successful and also in desperate need of change. For example, Inside Out 2 was the highest-grossing movie of 2024, earning nearly $1.7 billion. Yet, just the year before, Disney released several movies that were awful flops, from The Marvels to Wish. In this way, Disney’s success seems to be balancing on a very narrow ledge, and their latest mishap just goes to show that the company needs to refresh its idea of what kind of stories it wants to tell.
Disney Could’ve Had A Great Fantasy Franchise With Children Of Blood & Bone
Why Disney Let Go Of The Franchise
A recent misstep for Disney that has recently come to light is the fact that they could have, but did not, adapt Children of Blood and Bone. First published in 2018, Children of Blood and Bone is the first novel in a fantasy trilogy that interweaves magic with Nigerian culture and folklore. The books, written by Tomi Adeyemi, center on Zélie Adebola, a young woman who is part of an oppressed population of people who practice magic, known as maji. However, Zélie attempts to change her fate by restoring magic to her kingdom.
For years, Disney owned the rights to Children of Blood and Bone, and despite promising an adaptation, had never moved forward with one. In 2022, Paramount Pictures was able to purchase the rights instead, promising an exclusive theatrical release and Adeyemi serving as screenwriter and executive producer. It seems as though Disney and Lucasfilm were more invested in expanding their own intellectual rights rather than working on Children of Blood and Bone. Now, based on Paramount’s plans, this oversight looks like it’s going to be a major missed opportunity for Disney.
Children Of Blood & Bone’s Adaptation Now Has One Of The Best Fantasy Casts In Years
Why Children Of Blood & Bone Looks Amazing
One significant strength of Paramount’s Children of Blood and Bone that Disney is now missing out on is an incredible cast. Children of Blood and Bone is going to star outstanding actors, including Idris Elba, Viola Davis, Amandla Stenberg, Cynthia Erivo, and more. The casting of Elba and Davis is of particular interest since Adeyemi had pinned them as her dream cast several years ago. In this way, it seems that Paramount is willing to put in quite a lot of money and talent into this project, and such big names are sure to bring in many audience members.
Of course, Children of Blood and Bone also seems to benefit from being a top priority for Paramount, meaning it’ll no longer suffer from delays.
Children of Blood and Bone has other amazing qualities aside from its cast. First and foremost, the source material is very strong. Children of Blood and Bone is a notable series among fantasy fans, and it offers up a story that is quite different from what is popular at the moment. Furthermore, with Adeyemi as script writer and producer, the movie will likely be focused on accuracy, which is often a concern for book lovers. Of course, Children of Blood and Bone also seems to benefit from being a top priority for Paramount, meaning it’ll no longer suffer from delays.
Disney (& Lucasfilm) Still Needs More Original Franchises
The Future Of Disney & Lucasfilm Explained
Losing out on Children of Blood and Bone was clearly a mistake for Disney, but it also highlights a deeper problem for the company. In general, Disney and its attached companies need to consider buying into new IPs. Although Disney owns some of the most popular franchises in the world, they can only use them for so long before they become stale and too familiar. For example, Indiana Jones is an iconic franchise, but its most recent installment, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny was a flop. Therefore, Disney could benefit from having some fresh stories in its arsenal.
Unfortunately, Disney and Lucasfilm do not seem to be on the right track when it comes to diversifying their story selection. In the coming year, Disney is set to release several remakes and sequels, including Snow White, Lilo & Sтιтch, and Zootopia 2. On top of that, almost all of Lucasfilm’s upcoming projects are centered on Star Wars. Hopefully, Disney will make a pivot soon so that audiences don’t become bored with the same old franchises.
