The ‘Children of Blood and Bone’ casting announcement led to some mixed reactions on social media

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The casting for the upcoming film adaptation of Tomi Adeyemi’s New York Times Best Seller “Children of Blood and Bone,” directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood, for Paramount Pictures is blindingly star-studded.

The release date has been set for Jan. 15, 2027, in theaters and Imax.

The cast, announced Wednesday, features Black Hollywood A-listers in starring roles including Thuso Mbedu as the film’s led character Zelie, Amandla Stenberg as Princess Amari, Damson Idris as Prince Inan, Tosin Cole as Tzain, Viola Davis as Mama Agba, Cynthia Erivo as Admiral Kaea, Idris Elba as Lekan, Lashana Lynch as Jumoke, and Chiwetel Ejiofor as King Saran.

The story chronicles the epic journey of Zelie as she attempts to reclaim the magic King Saran stole from her village. Because the story is not only a Black epic fantasy but one that champions Nigerian — more specifically, Yoruba — culture, the highly anticipated casting has spurred mixed reactions from fans online.

“I want to talk about the casting for Children of Blood and Bones but I fear some of yall aren’t ready for that conversation,” influencer Fumi Ford wrote on Threads.

Fans chiming in online have raised concerns, chiefly about the ages of the cast, since the book is about children, as the title suggests.

“There’s no children cast in a movie called the children of blood and bone,” a user posted on X.

Since the cast heavily features Black American and Black British actors, others have noted the potential for botched Nigerian accents.

“We’re about to witness the most egregious “african” accents put to screen in that children of blood and bone adaptation I’m actually laughing,” said one user online.

Another added, “They’ll have families speaking in british, south african, kenyan, and yoruba accents all at once I just know it.”

Then there are fans who took issue with Stenberg’s casting as a character who is a dark skin Black girl who faces colorism in the book.

“I rlly (sic) hoped children of blood and bone could do amazing things for young black actors,” began a user in a post on X. “Casting a dark skinned man to play the lightest colored character in the series but a biracial woman to play his sister who faces colorism for being darker? biblical levels of misogynoir.”

Despite the backlash, Stenberg’s casting is a bit of a full-circle moment. Some may recall when the book’s author, Tomi Adeyemi, explained a large part of her inspiration to write the book, which was originally released in March 2018, came from the world’s reaction to Stenberg’s casting in the “Hunger Games” franchise.

“I’m the kind of person who gets motivated by anger, so I was like, ‘Oh man, I’m going to write a story that’s so good and so Black that everyone’s going to have to read it even if you’re racist,’” Adeyemi told Entertainment Weekly at the time. “That became my writing mission.”

There has also been some confusion around how this cast came to be. In November 2024, Prince-Bythewood posted an open call for actors living in Nigeria only but that wasn’t represented in the casting announcement. But according to Variety, not all of the casting has been confirmed yet (Regina King, for instance, is reportedly in negotiations for the role of Queen Nehanda), including that from the open casting call in Nigeria, something also addressed by the book’s author, Adeyemi. 

“We’ll be sharing more Nigerian castings and results from the open call soon,” Adeyemi wrote in the caption of a post on Instagram announcing the casting. 

Not everyone has been unhappy with the casting reveal. Many, including Adeyemi, have been celebrating the casting online. 

“Ooooowwweeee!!!! STAR-STUDDED is an understatement,” a user wrote under Adeyemi’s post.

On Threads, another said, “Honestly, the only thing keeping me going is that Children of Blood and Bone cast reveal. At least there’s one thing to look forward to.”