Rick Famuyiwa, who has written and directed films like The Wood, Brown Sugar, and Dope, has been tapped to helm Fox 2000’s Children of Blood and Bone, an action fantasy film based on the New York Times bestselling novel by Nigerian-American author Tomi Adeyemi.

The novel was released in March of last year, via Henry Holt Books for Young Readers, with the follow-up, Children of Virtue and Vengeance, slated to hit shelves in June.

David Magee penned the screen adaptation. Here’s the logline: Zélie Adebola remembers when the soil of Orïsha hummed with magic. Burners ignited flames, Tiders beckoned waves, and Zélie’s Reaper mother summoned forth souls. Everything changed the night magic disappeared. Under the orders of a ruthless king, maji were killed, leaving Zélie without a mother and her people without hope. Now Zélie has one chance to bring back magic and strike against the monarchy. With the help of a rogue princess, Zélie must outwit and outrun the crown prince, who is hell-bent on eradicating magic for good. Danger lurks in Orïsha, where snow leoponaires prowl and vengeful spirits wait in the waters. Yet the greatest danger may be Zélie herself as she struggles to control her powers—and her growing feelings for an enemy.

Temple Hill’s Marty Bowen, Isaac Klausner, and John Fischer are producing the project with Sunswept Entertainment’s Karen Rosenfelt and Famuyiwa under the production banner VERSE. Gillian Bohrer is supervising production on behalf of the studio.

Famuyiwa and VERSE are repped by WME, Oasis Media Group and Del Shaw.

THR was first to break this news.