‘It took all of me’: Tomi Adeyemi stops adapting her books for film
Tomi Adeyemi says a painful jolt after Children of B**** and Bone changed how she looks at Hollywood adaptations — and it’s not the lesson you’d expect.
In a new interview ahead of the movie ’s release, author Tomi Adeyemi said she hasn’t seen a frame of Children of Blood and Bone and doesn’t plan to. She also made clear that the creative calls on the film weren’t hers — even though she shares a screenplay credit with director Gina Prince-Bythewood.
“The whole journey of the trilogy and the adaptation felt biblical … It took all of me.”
Speaking to The Guardian, Adeyemi declined to detail what went wrong during production. Back in July, she called making the film her “worst experience yet” in a viral TikTok, describing hyperventilating and crying on set and saying the panic attacks and physical pain followed her home to the U.S. Asked about the casting of Amandla Stenberg, she said that on a film, the director makes the decisions, not the author — and she’s keeping her distance.
“So there’s nothing for me to add, other than the clarity that these aren’t my choices.”
The movie rolling out
Paramount Pictures is set to release Children of Blood and Bone in theaters on January 15, 2027 . Prince-Bythewood directs and co-wrote the script with Adeyemi. The production leaned on practical sets and Yoruba-inspired costuming, with filming across South Africa and Nigeria; the first teaser uses Beyoncé’s “Energy.”
The cast includes:
- Thuso Mbedu — Zélie Adebola
- Damson Idris — Crown Prince Inan
- Amandla Stenberg — Princess Amari
- Tosin Cole — Tzain
- Chiwetel Ejiofor — King Saran
- Viola Davis — supporting role
- Regina King — supporting role
- Idris Elba — supporting role
- Cynthia Erivo — supporting role
- Lashana Lynch — supporting role
The project reunites Prince-Bythewood with Mbedu, Davis and Lynch after The Woman King; she’s even likened the stacked ensemble to the 1996 Chicago Bulls. Adapted from Adeyemi’s 2018 bestseller — the first book in her Legacy of Orïsha trilogy — the story follows Zélie as she races to restore magic to her homeland before the summer solstice.
Children of Blood and Bone opens in theaters January 15, 2027.