Lucasfilm loses rights to Children of Blood and Bone
By Daniel Roman
When you think Lucasfilm, you most likely think Star Wars…and it’s becoming ever more clear that the company is mainly thinking of its long-term future in those terms as well. This wasn’t always the case; during Disney Investor’s Day in 2020, it was announced that the studio was set to adapt Tomi Adeyemi’s breakout YA fantasy novel Children of Blood and Bone. This looked to be a huge shift for Lucasfilm, representing a daring foray outside of their established franchises.
But after several years of stalled development, the studio has let the rights to adapt the popular African-inspired fantasy novels lapse. In a quiet bidding war that took place late in 2021, the rights were snatched up by Paramount, who will now be taking over the production as of January 2022, per The Hollywood Reporter.
Children of Blood and Bone had an interesting journey to land at Lucasfilm in the first place. The book was originally optioned for film by Fox 2000 in 2017, which was before it even released to the general reading public in 2018. This speaks to the confidence the studio had in the story, which has since gone on to win numerous accolades and top all sorts of bestseller lists. When Fox was acquired by Disney, the studio was retired, however, and Children of Blood and Bone migrated to Lucasfilm’s slate due to Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy’s interest in the project.
Lucasfilm re-focuses on its Star Wars properties
Since then, the production has ground to a halt. Adeyemi reportedly grew frustrated with the slow pace of the adaptation, and pushed to be able to write the script for the film herself. Lucasfilm refused to let her do it, and instead the project languished. Per THR’s sources, this shift can be credited to executives at the studio wanting to focus more heavily on Star Wars, which has an ever-expanding slate of new movies and shows.
It all came to a head when the company let the rights lapse and Paramount expressed interest in buying them in late 2021. Children of Blood and Bone still has original producers Wyck Godfrey, Marty Bowen and Karen Rosenfelt attached to it. And after the transition, Adeyemi has reportedly secured more creative influence over the production and the right to pen the screenplay.
The fact that Lucasfilm is homing in on Star Wars shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise, especially considering that they’re now just one of many cogs in the Disney machine. Lucasfilm is also developing a Willow TV series for Disney+ and Indiana Jones 5, but Star Wars is one of the most recognizable film properties in history and Disney no doubt purchased the studio primarily because of it. With The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett doing so well on Disney+, approximately 300 other Star Wars projects in development, and studios more risk-averse than ever due to ongoing COVID-19 complications in the film industry, it’s easy to imagine why this decision was made.
Mary Elizabeth Winstead joins the cast of Ahsoka
In other Star Wars news, Mary Elizabeth Winstead has officially joined the cast of the Ahsoka show that’s currently in production for Disney+. Per The Hollywood Reporter, Winstead joins a cast that includes Rosario Dawson as the titular Jedi Knight, as well as Ivanna Sakhno and Natasha Liu Bordizzo. No details are currently known about Winstead’s role.
Winstead has a number of sci-fi and action credits to her name, including Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, 10 Cloverfield Lane and Live Free or Die Hard. She most recently starred in the 2021 Netflix film Kate and as Huntress in the DC film Birds of Prey. She’s clearly got the skillset for a series like Ahsoka, and we’re excited to see what she brings to the show.
Not much is known about the Ahsoka Tano-centric series as of yet. The character was a mainstay in the Star Wars animated series Clone Wars and Rebels, before Rosario Dawson played her in live-action during season 2 of The Mandalorian. Ahsoka is reported to be set five years after Return of the Jedi, and will also see Hayden Christensen reprise his role as Anakin Skywalker.
Ahsoka is currently in production at Lucasfilm. Children of Blood and Bone is currently in production at Paramount.
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