For better and worse, Hollywood was changed by Black Panther. Marvel’s critically acclaimed hit was not the first superhero movie to feature a Black character, but its popularity triggered a much-needed renaissance for Black-led films, not to mention a feverish new interest in fantasy worlds like Wakanda. Progress has been slow on these stories, but in 2027, we might get our most definitive answer to the Black Panther phenomenon, Children of Blood and Bone.
Based on the best-selling young adult novels by Tomi Adeyemi and directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood, Children of Blood and Bone is the latest (and perhaps greatest) story to ride the wave of Marvel’s success. From its initial casting announcements — which wrangled a who’s who of Black superstars — to its first-look images, it was clear that the film was borrowing from both Black Panther and Prince-Bythewood’s own The Woman King. Those comparisons both helped and hurt the project: after all, with so few Black fantasy films out there, it’d behoove Children of Blood and Bone to build its own visual language. It’s just one of a handful of details that make this film feel a bit polarizing, and with its first trailer finally out in the world, it might not be the last.
