Tomi Adeyemi says she is done carrying the Children of Blood and Bone film adaptation on her name. In a TikTok video posted Saturday, the author said she has not seen the movie and will not watch it, while making clear that she is “officially separating” herself from the project.
The comments land now because Adeyemi did not frame them as a passing complaint. She said there is a reason she will not post about the adaptation of her work, then added that it has been painful to keep that reason from readers. She also told followers, “I do not mind anyone going to watch the film. I wrote this for us. I fought for us. I’m just laying down my sword and officially separating my name because I can’t keep being hurt and attacked behind the scenes.”
That public break matters because Adeyemi is not an outsider looking in. She is credited as executive producer and as a co-screenwriter with Gina Prince-Bythewood, who is directing the feature adaptation. The film also carries a large ensemble cast that includes Thuso Mbedu, Tosin Cole, Amandla Stenberg, Damson Idris, Cynthia Erivo, Lashana Lynch, Regina King, Idris Elba, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Viola Davis, and it is still scheduled to reach theaters on Jan. 15, 2027.
Children of Blood and Bone first arrived in 2018 as Adeyemi’s best-selling debut novel and the opening book in her Legacy of Orïsha trilogy. Its story follows a young woman, played by Mbedu, on a quest to reclaim magic stolen from her people, while she and her brother, played by Cole, join the king’s children to fight his rule. The adaptation has already changed hands once: it was previously in development at Lucasfilm before Paramount acquired the property after it went into turnaround in late 2021.
The friction is sharper because Adeyemi’s distance from the film has not been subtle. In February 2025, she sent Stenberg a message telling her not to use Adeyemi’s name in an interview or video again, and the screenshot suggested that she had blocked Stenberg. Stenberg, who plays Princess Amari in the movie, had earlier posted a deleted TikTok video around the same time responding to colorism backlash over her role and said Adeyemi had supported her casting. Adeyemi now says she will not promote the film at all, but that she still cares about US, which leaves the adaptation headed toward release with its author publicly stepping aside.
