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Gina Prince-Bythewood is committed to African music being at the heart of Children of Blood and Bone, and Tems is playing a historic role in creating the soundscape of the highly anticipated fantasy epic.
Prince-Bythewood and star Thuso Mbedu discussed the movie and soundtrack during a conversation at the NABJ (National Association of Black Journalists) national convention about the upcoming Paramount Pictures film to a roomful of journalists. Prince-Bythewood opened up about the importance of music to the movie and revealed details about a stacked soundtrack with many of the biggest names in modern African music.
Prince-Bythewood, whose credits include Love & Basketball, The Secret Life of Bees, Beyond the Lights and The Woman King, said music is part of her writing process.
“I love music and I write to music,” Prince-Bythewood explained. “Every film I do, everything I write, I create a playlist of songs that open me up emotionally when I’m writing.”
For Children of Blood and Bone, that playlist was overwhelmingly rooted in Afrobeats and African music.
“There were two artists and two songs in particular that became, like, on repeat,” she revealed. “And the first was Tems’ ‘Try Me.’ Incredible song, and it spoke so clearly to Zélie (the movie’s protagonist played by Thuso Mbedu). And then ‘Alone’ by Burna Boy spoke incredibly to Inan (Damson Idris).”
Those songs became more than inspiration.
“Just having those songs play on a loop for me as I wrote, it just became embedded into the DNA of the film,” Prince-Bythewood said.
That creative connection ultimately led Prince-Bythewood to think beyond simply licensing a Tems record.
“I knew, like, I want them on the soundtrack,” she said. “And actually, not even that. I want Tems to curate the soundtrack because I love her work so much.”
According to Prince-Bythewood, a meeting with Tems resulted in an immediate agreement.
The Grammy-winning Nigerian star became executive music producer and curator of the soundtrack, while Burna Boy reportedly serving as an executive music consultant. Tems has contributed three new songs to the project.
Prince-Bythewood described Tems’ role as groundbreaking.
“She’s the first woman to do this, which is staggering,” the filmmaker said. “She killed it. Like, killed it. There are no skips on this.”
The soundtrack also brings together a formidable collection of African talent.
Prince-Bythewood named Ayra Starr, BNXN and Fireboy DML among the artists involved. Reports surrounding the soundtrack have similarly confirmed BNXN, Fireboy and Ayra Starr as part of the musical lineup.
Prince-Bythewood also revealed that a writing camp was held in Ghana with producers including GuiltyBeatz and P2J, creating music specifically around the movie and its scenes.
“It’s just a beautiful soundtrack, but not only just great songs, but they work so beautifully for the scenes,” Prince-Bythewood said.
That distinction could prove important.
Children of Blood and Bone isn’t simply using African music as a fashionable backdrop for a Hollywood fantasy. The songs were developed as part of the emotional architecture of the movie as was the movie. It was shot in South Africa and inspired by Nigeria.
Celebrated jazz trumpeter and film composer Terence Blanchard will handle the movie’s score. His extensive film work includes collaborations with Spike Lee and more. Blanchard’s score will combine orchestral composition with African instrumentation.
The music is fitting for a film attempting to build one of Hollywood’s most ambitious Black fantasy worlds.
Based on Tomi Adeyemi’s bestselling 2018 novel, Children of Blood and Bone takes place in the fictional kingdom of Orïsha and centers on Zélie Adebola, played by Mbedu, as she fights to restore magic that was violently taken from her people. Paramount describes the story as following Zélie and her brother as they join forces with the king’s daughter and son to challenge his brutal rule.
Mbedu leads an unusually deep ensemble cast that includes Amandla Stenberg, Damson Idris, Tosin Cole, Cynthia Erivo, Lashana Lynch, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Idris Elba, Regina King and Viola Davis. Ayra Starr also appears in the movie, extending the connection between the film’s musical and cinematic worlds.
Prince-Bythewood co-wrote the screenplay with Adeyemi. The film arrives nearly nine years after Adeyemi’s novel introduced readers to Orïsha and became a publishing phenomenon. The story’s combination of West African-inspired mythology, oppression, identity and supernatural power helped distinguish it in a fantasy genre where Black characters have historically been underrepresented.
Prince-Bythewood said she wants moviegoers to leave the theater feeling the same sense of discovery she experienced reading the book.
“I want people to feel the way I felt when I read the book,” she said. “I was so filled. I knew I had just experienced something I’ve never experienced before.”
She promises that experience will run through virtually every emotion.
“You’re going to be angry. You’re going to laugh. You’re going to cry. You’re going to dance. You’re going to cheer. And you’re going to feel hope at the end.”
“We get to see ourselves in a fantasy world,” she said. “And this fantasy world includes all of us, every beautiful hue.”
Mbedu echoed that message, saying she hopes audiences walk away believing they can push beyond their own limitations.
“I want people to be inspired,” Mbedu said. “I want people to challenge themselves. I want people to override their doubts, override their fears, and go with that which they really want and desire.”
The first official trailer has already offered audiences a glimpse of Prince-Bythewood’s vision. Released in July, it introduced Mbedu’s Zélie alongside the sprawling ensemble and the magical world of Orïsha.
Children of Blood and Bone positions African music as a driving creative force rather than an accessory.
And Prince-Bythewood is already offering a review of her own.
“There are no skips.”
Children of Blood and Bone opens in theaters and IMAX on January 15, 2027.
Director Gina Prince-Bythewood and actress Thuso Mbedu appeared at the August 2026 National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) convention in Atlanta. Moderated by journalist Jasmine Simpkins of KTLA, the panel featured an exclusive preview and conversation about Paramount’s upcoming adaptation of Children of Blood and Bone.
