The cast list for Gina Prince-Bythewood’s Children Of Blood And Bone is, frankly, ludicrous. There’s a whole stack of legends: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Regina King, Idris Elba, Viola Davis, Cynthia Erivo, Lashana Lynch. And then there’s a crop of some of the best young talent around too: Amandla Stenberg, Rocks’ Bukky Bakery, Tosin Cole, Thuso Mbedu, and Damson Idris. It’s the kind of ensemble that makes the film’s intention clear: this is an event movie. While the idea of blockbuster Afrofuturism went mainstream with Black Panther, Children Of Blood And Bone conjures a world of Afrofantasy – set in the fictional kingdom of Orïsha, where magic once existed, but has been banished.
As Damson Idris – who plays Inan, a prince who forms an important bond with Thuso Mbedu’s protagonist Zélie – tells Empire, there’s never been anything quite like this before, especially with this kind of cast. “It was just really exciting to be in this world and to see an absolute transformation of so many amazing actors doing something of heritage and culture and importance,” he explains. “It felt like we were making something brand-new, and it felt really fresh. And that to me is what symbolised what Children Of Blood And Bone is.”
The role of Prince Inan was one he knew he could embody – and there’s plenty of meat in the role as he undergoes a transformative character arc. “He wants to be a different type of king, and in meeting Zélie when he’s sent on the mission to stop magic, he essentially is faced with a mirror,” Idris teases. “‘Who am I? What type of king do I want to be, and what type of man do I want to be?’” Get ready to find out on the biggest screen possible, filled with legends old and new.
Read Empire’s full Children Of Blood And Bone story in the Dune: Part Three issue, on sale Thursday October 22. Pre-order a copy online here. Children Of Blood And Bone comes to cinemas from January 22, 2027.
