Ayra Starr turns actor to make Hollywood debut in ‘Children of Blood and Bone’

Ayra Starr is set to make her Hollywood debut in the film adaptation of ‘Children of Blood and Bone,’ a 2018 young adult romantic fantasy novel by Nigerian-American novelist Tomi Adeyemi.

The book was adapted into an American fantasy movie after Adeyemi secured a seven-figure deal with Fox Studios.

Filming began in South Africa in February. Paramount Pictures is scheduled to release the film in the United States on January 15, 2027.

In a recent Instagram post, Adeyemi announced the newest additions to the cast, including Ayra Starr, Richard Mofe-Damijo, Pamilerin Ayodeji, Shamz Garuba, Zackary Momoh, Kola Bodunde, Saniyya Sidney, and British-Nigerian basketball player Temi Fagbenle.

In January 2025, Thuso Mbedu, Amandla Stenberg, Damson Idris, Tosin Cole, Cynthia Erivo, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Lashana Lynch, Idris Elba, and Viola Davis joined the cast.

In November 2024, a casting call was sent out by Gina Prince-Bythewood, the movie director, for male and female actors between the ages of 10 and mid-20s living in Nigeria.

Adeyemi’s bestselling novel, which landed on the New York Times bestseller list in 2018, tells the story of Zélie Adebola’s quest to restore magic to the kingdom of Orïsha after the ruling class brutally suppresses the class of magic practitioners she belongs to.

Adeyemi, an English literature graduate of Harvard University, is also a creative writing coach based in San Diego. After graduating from Harvard, she secured a fellowship to study West African mythology and culture in Salvador, Brazil.

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