Star Casting For ‘Children Of Blood And Bone’ Has Social Media In Its Feelings

The casting of the film adaptation of Tomi Adeyemi's 'Children of Blood and Bone' is a point of contention for some fans.

The cast for Tomi Adeyemi’s Children of Blood and Bone has finally been announced, with stars Idris Elba and Viola Davis headlining a dream team.

They will be joined by Tony Award winner Cynthia Erivo, NAACP Image Award winner Damson Idris, and Thuso Mbedu, known for her role in The Woman King and her voiceover work in Castlevania: Nocturne, as main character Zelie.

The author of the Legacy of Orisha trilogy revealed the full cast of Children of Blood and Bone in a post on her TikTok account.

the full cast of children of blood and bone…it’s really giving BIG BUDGET 😭 pic.twitter.com/nAGAK2Rvu6
— kudus pr manager 🇬🇭 (@kimkimdaya) January 22, 2025

Excitement for the casting has flooded social media. Since the 2018 release of Legacy of Orisha: Children of Blood and Bone, fans have anxiously awaited the next two books in the series and hoped for a film adaptation.

Though written as fantasy fiction, the books are rich with references to African culture, specifically Nigerian culture and Yoruba mythology. Adeyemi intertwined these elements with a well-developed magic system and beautiful Black imagery. Many readers see themselves reflected in the text.

It is no surprise, then, that some social media users and fans of the books have expressed dissatisfaction with the casting. One user voiced concerns about the lack of Nigerian representation. While casting for minor roles is still ongoing, the main roles have largely been filled by American and British Black actors.

The cast of children of blood and bone is such a joke don’t piss me off tomi 😤

Literally only one of your cast members are Nigerian, after you specifically sought out to have an open casting call for the film pic.twitter.com/c0zuo7ARyc
— the life of job (@_amakamadu_) January 22, 2025

Another point of contention for fans is the casting of Amandla Stenberg as Amari. According to an X user, the character is a victim of colorism. Stenberg’s lighter complexion does not align with these descriptions.

Just thinking about the young black girls who read Children of Blood and Bone and saw themselves in Amari while she dealt with colorism. What an utter betrayal from the author down to production. pic.twitter.com/cB61mV4gPp
— Shaymore (@shaymore4522) January 23, 2025

One X user offered a solution for future Black fantasy epics: animation, which has become an increasingly successful medium for Black stories—see Spiderman: Into the Spiderverse‘s Miles Morales.

the casting for Children of Blood and Bone is a perfect example of why i advocate for more fantasy projects to be animated. black female characters are rarely cast correctly in these projects, and animation would have avoided all these issues 👍🏾#SayYesToAnimation pic.twitter.com/3rYBZCADTH
— melo🌷 ⋆౨ৎ˚⟡˖ ࣪ (@aftermidnitte) January 23, 2025

While complaints can be found across the internet, many are simply excited to see so much Black excellence come together to create a beautiful Black world of magic.

I am so excited, I love Black fantasy sci-fi epics and CHILDREN OF BLOOD & BONE is just what we all need!! Thuso Mbedu, Damson Idris, Tosin Cole and Amandla Stenberg (happy she got something after Star Wars The Acolyte) have all been cast!!🙌🏾🩷
I will be seated Jan 15 2027!! pic.twitter.com/mHPZBvwbXc
— Bella 🩷✨🦋 (@BellaLoveNote) January 22, 2025