Disney initially held the rights to Tomi Adeyemi’s Children of Blood & Bone, but the company let the chance to produce this possible big fantasy movie franchise go after several years. According to author and screenwriter Tomi Adeyemi, filming for Children of Blood & Bone has finally started. Based on Adeyemi’s young adult fantasy book series, Children of Blood & Bone is the first installment in the Legacy of Orïsha trilogy, which follows Zélie’s fight to bring back magic and free her people from Orïsha’s oppression.

There are several reasons why Children of Blood & Bone is the most exciting fantasy project in development, ranging from the franchise potential to the compelling Western African-inspired fantastical world-building. Considering all the hype surrounding this adaptation, it is surprising that Disney was willing to give up the rights to Children of Blood & Bone. However, there is an explanation of why this string of events occurred, and now, Paramount will distribute Children of Blood & Bone after the company acquired it once Disney relinquished the rights.

Lucasfilm Let The Rights To Children Of Blood & Bone Lapse After Sitting On It For Years

Lucasfilm Never Progressed With Their Adaptation Of Children Of Blood & Bone

The adaptation of Tomi Adeyemi’s Children of Blood & Bone has been in the making for a long time. Initially, Fox 2000 would have released the film, and the studio even hired Rick Famuyiwa to direct Children of Blood & Bone. However, Fox 2000 shut down once Disney bought 21st Century Fox, and Disney took over production of this movie. In December 2020, Disney made a surprising announcement: Lucasfilm would now develop the adaptation of Children of Blood & Bone.

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The development was shocking because Lucasfilm is renowned for Star Wars and Indiana Jones, and Disney does not particularly use this studio company for other big blockbuster franchises. However, this announcement was part of a bigger plan to expand Lucasfilm, and Children of Blood & Bone was the movie that would kickstart the leap into this expansion. Unfortunately, many issues arose with Disney at the helm of the adaptation, and eventually, the corporation let go of the rights to Children of Blood & Bone.

Why Disney Let The Rights To Children Of Blood & Bone Go

Lucasfilm Is More Invested In Star Wars

There are actually several obvious reasons as to why Disney eventually relinquished the rights to the Children of Blood & Bone adaptation. For one, Lucasfilm has always prioritized Star Wars, its most famous franchise comprising many projects. In the last few years alone, Star Wars has seen an abundance of TV shows, including The Mandalorian, Andor, The Acolyte, and Skeleton Crew. Furthermore, Star Wars has several upcoming movies, including a new Jedi Order film, a Dawn of the Jedi movie, and The Mandalorian & Grogu.

With Lucasfilm’s priority being Star Wars, followed by Indiana Jones, it makes sense that the production of Children of Blood & Bone stalled. However, Lucasfilm’s priorities are not the only reason Children of Blood & Bone did not work out at Disney. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Tomi Adeyemi never saw eye to eye with Lucasfilm. The author insisted on writing the script for the Children of Blood & Bone movie, something Lucasfilm was unwilling to allow. These creative differences also contributed to Disney pᴀssing on the rights to Children of Blood & Bone, leading to a new bidding war.

How Paramount Acquired Children Of Blood & Bone After Disney Lost The Rights

Paramount Won A Bidding War

Once Disney’s rights to Children of Blood & Bone expired toward the end of 2021, a new bidding war commenced between multiple companies, including Universal, Amazon, and Netflix (via ᴅᴇᴀᴅline). This auction was particularly compeтιтive because of Children of Blood & Bone‘s popularity — the rights to initial publication went to Henry Holt after an intense bidding war in a seven-figure deal (via Publishers Weekly), and Fox 2000 had purchased the movie rights before the book was even published. Children of Blood & Bone debuted at number one on The New York Times Best Sellers’ list for Young Adult Hardcover.

In January 2022, Paramount Pictures secured the rights to Children of Blood & Bone, with Adeyemi as the screenwriter and executive producer. Children of Blood & Bone will also be produced by Wyck Godfrey and Marty Bowen (Temple Hill Entertainment), as well as Karen Rosenfelt (Sunswept Entertainment). It is clear that Paramount Pictures was the right studio for this fantasy project based on Co-President Daria Cercek’s statement. Cercek listed Children of Blood & Bone as “a phenomenon in the YA world [that] has transformed every expectation of what world-building fantasy can be.”

According to insiders at ᴅᴇᴀᴅline, Paramount Pictures was determined to get the rights to Children of Blood & Bone. Their final offer included creative control for Adeyemi and a seven-figure deal for writing the movie script. Thus, Lucasfilm lost Children of Blood & Bone to Paramount Pictures. However, when Paramount Pictures secured the rights to Children of Blood & Bone, the development stage began to speed up, and the movie now seems more exciting than ever.

Children Of Blood & Bone Is Shaping Up To Be The Next Big Fantasy Movie Franchise

Production Has Officially Begun On Children Of Blood & Bone

Once Paramount Pictures acquired Children of Blood & Bone, production sped up dramatically, and many of the dominoes that fell into place prove this movie will likely be the beginning of the next big fantasy franchise. In June 2022, Adeyemi took to Instagram to illustrate her hard work on the script — she was on her sixth draft within six months. On December 14, 2023, ᴅᴇᴀᴅline announced that Gina Prince-Bythewood was set to direct Children of Blood & Bone — an impressive person to recruit, given Prince-Bythewood’s directorial history.

On January 22, 2025, the movie cast of Children of Blood & Bone was announced, which includes iconic stars such as Viola Davis, Cynthia Erivo, Idris Elba, Regina King, Chiwetel Ejiofor, and more. However, this cast was not met without backlash. Adeyemi initially implied that the cast would consist of predominantly Nigerian actors living in Nigeria. However, only four of the 10 confirmed actors are Nigerian, and none of them live in Nigeria. Furthermore, there was significant backlash regarding Amandla Stenberg’s casting because Amari is described as a darker-skinned and curvier character (via HuffPost).

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Regardless, Stenberg defended her casting (via BET), and Adeyemi is standing by her and the rest of the cast. On a more positive note, Adeyemi confirmed on February 17, 2025, that filming had officially begun for Children of Blood & Bone. Despite the casting issues, Adeyemi has promised more opportunities for Nigerian actors, and the adaptation still looks promising. All things considered, it is a relief that Disney lost the rights to Children of Blood & Bone. This event cleared the way for this movie to reach its ultimate potential.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter, ᴅᴇᴀᴅline, Publishers Weekly, The New York Times, Instagram, HuffPost, BET