When the first trailer for Children of Blood and Bone arrived, audiences were immediately drawn into the breathtaking adaptation of Tomi Adeyemi’s bestselling fantasy novel. Beyond its striking visuals and star-studded cast, however, another story has quietly emerged – one that speaks to the growing influence of African creatives across global cinema.
More than simply featuring African actors or drawing inspiration from African mythology, the film has entrusted some of the continent’s biggest musical voices with shaping its emotional identity from behind the scenes.
Leading that vision is Nigerian Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Tems, who has been announced as the Executive Producer and Curator of the film’s official soundtrack. The appointment marks another defining moment in her career and positions her among a new generation of African creatives influencing some of the world’s most ambitious film productions. According to director Gina Prince-Bythewood, the decision was intentional from the very beginning.
“I wanted Tems to curate the soundtrack. I wanted her to executive produce it,” Prince-Bythewood revealed. She went on to describe Tems as the first woman to executive produce a soundtrack at this level, praising the artist for assembling what she calls “an epic soundtrack” with “absolutely no skips.”
Rather than approaching the soundtrack as a collection of commercially successful records, Tems curated a body of work rooted in contemporary African music. The project features three brand-new Tems songs, alongside contributions from Fireboy DML, BNXN (Benson), Ayra Starr, and other African artists, while Burna Boy joins the production as Executive Music Consultant, lending his creative perspective to the overall musical direction. Together, they transform the soundtrack into more than accompaniment – it becomes an extension of the film’s cultural identity.
Prince-Bythewood also revealed that acclaimed composer Terence Blanchard created a score that merges traditional orchestral composition with African instrumentation, resulting in a sonic landscape unlike anything audiences have experienced before.
“The songs within this score are all Afrobeats,” she explained, emphasizing that the combination of orchestral storytelling and African musical traditions was central to realizing the world of Children of Blood and Bone.
Even the film’s trailer reflects that philosophy, pairing its visuals with excerpts from Beyoncé’s 2022 record “Energy,” immediately signaling that music would play an integral role in introducing audiences to the story’s universe.
The significance of these creative decisions extends beyond a single film. Hollywood has increasingly looked toward Africa for stories, talent and inspiration, but Children of Blood and Bone represents something more substantial.
Here, African artists are not simply contributing performances or licensed songs – they are influencing the creative direction of an international production at the highest level. From soundtrack curation and music consultation to original recordings and culturally grounded scoring, African musicians are helping define how one of Hollywood’s most anticipated fantasy films will be heard and remembered.
For audiences across Africa and around the world, Children of Blood and Bone offers a compelling example of how music continues to shape cultural storytelling. As the boundaries between film and music become increasingly interconnected, the project stands as a celebration of African excellence across multiple creative disciplines, demonstrating that the continent’s artists are no longer participating in global conversations from the margins – they are helping lead them.
Check out these really cool posters below as movie is scheduled for 2027.
