Here’s Everything We Know About Children Of Blood and Bone — & Its Controversy

Photo: Courtesy of Lephatse Motshana/Paramount Pictures.The Children of Blood and Bone controversy may not be coming to an end anytime soon. After the trailer for the Paramount Pictures film adaptation of the bestselling novel dropped on Tuesday, author Tomi Adeyemi doubled down on her decision to distance herself from the project. She shared in a TikTok video that working on the film was “the worst thing I have ever had to live through” that resulted in her “hyperventilating” to the point where she had to leave the set.“There are many witnesses, so it’s not really a secret,” the Nigerian-American author said in the video. “I came back to America and suffered such severe somatic pain and so many panic attacks. I knew it was so bad that I would never ever be able to watch this film, and I made peace with that.”AdvertisementADVERTISEMENTFans are wondering what actually happened for Adeyemi to entirely cut ties. Calling this adaptation highly anticipated would be an understatement. The film, shot in IMAX, projected to be a big screen blockbuster that could rival the impact of The Hunger Games and has been compared to the expansive world of Harry Potter. With a star-studded cast, and direction by Gina Prince-Bythewood, Children of Blood and Bone could open new doors in the fantasy film genre when it hits theaters January 15, 2027. Though Adeyemi nor the filmmakers have given much detail about what happened behind the scenes, some fans are wondering what the controversy means for the project. Though Adeyemi has announced herself that she will not be seeing the adaptation of her novel, she has not sent a call-to-action for her fans to also abstain from the film. In fact, in response to a comment on a since-deleted TikTok video, the 32-year old said “I do not mind anyone going to watch the film.” She continued, “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.”Photo: Courtesy of Lephatse Motshana/Paramount Pictures.Audiences have mixed feelings about the film. Some have expressed that they, too, will be sitting this one out to support Adeyemi, while others feel like the roles Amandla Stenberg and other cast members hold should’ve been for Nigerian actors. Still, some fans’ support for the film hasn’t wavered, especially considering the unfair standards Black filmmakers face when studios look at box office numbers.This is an unfortunate controversy. Children of Blood and Bone has had a generational impact as a YA novel that has broken barriers for how big fantasy that centers Black characters can be. And though it is not the first text based in Africa that uses magic, spirituality and cultural tradition to weave together a stunningly resonant story, it is the first of its kind to get the massive budgeting and Hollywood hype typically reserved for films with white-dominant casting. It’s expected to become one of the biggest fantasy features next year. Many worry that if this film doesn’t meet the mark at the box office, it may be a long time before another Black writer or director — let alone a Black woman — gets to showcase a fantastical world at this level. We may not know the root cause of the controversy but here’s a timeline of how we got here.AdvertisementADVERTISEMENTMarch 6, 2018: Tomi Adeyemi publishes Children of Blood and BoneAt 24, Tomi Adeyemi released Children of Blood and Bone, the first of three books in her groundbreaking Legacy of Orïsha series. The YA novel is set in a fictional African nation where protagonist Zélie Adebola sets out to bring magic back to the people of her kingdom who have been stripped of their power by an oppressive regime. Published by Henry Holt Books for Young Readers, Adeyemi received a historic book deal that included preemptive filmmaking rights which sold to Fox 2000 Pictures. Children of Blood and Bone debuted at No. 1 on New York Times’ Bestsellers List and spent over 120 weeks in the rankings. The Nigerian-American author also has earned several literary awards and was named on the Time 100 list in 2019 and 2020. January 2022: Adeyemi lands a seven-figure deal with Paramount Pictures The film was initially developed under George Lucas’ Lucasfilm with This Is Us writer Kay Oyegun penning the script and Rick Famuyiwa directing. After Disney’s acquisition of 20th Century Fox, Lucasfilm let the rights on the film lapse. A major bidding war ensued between studios, including Universal, Amazon and Netflix. Paramount Pictures came out victorious, obtaining the rights to the Children of Blood and Bone trilogy, which also includes Children of Virtue and Vengeance (December 2019) and Children of Anguish and Anarchy (June 2024). When first announced, Deadline reported that her deal included a seven-figure screenwriting guarantee, creative approvals for the author as executive producer and a guaranteed theatrical release.“Paramount’s passion and enthusiasm to bring this story to life has been incredible,” Adeyemi told the trade outlet at the time. “We are all so excited for this new chapter and are already hard at work.”AdvertisementADVERTISEMENTPhoto: Courtesy of Lephatse Motshana/Paramount Pictures.December 14, 2023: Gina Prince-Bythewood announced as directorPrince-Bythewood entered the project as its new director. She also co-wrote the script with Adeyemi with her husband, Reggie Rock Bythewood, serving as an executive producer. The Love & Basketball director said that she was approached to take the helm of Children of Blood and Bone three times over the course of seven years, noting that the timing wasn’t right the first two times. When she was approached the third time, she had The Woman King and The Old Guard under her belt. She noted that those films gave her the technical and emotional readiness to tell the story."I couldn't say no," she told the Los Angeles Times. "It was something even bigger in a space that we hadn't got to see ourselves in, which is fantasy and big, epic fantasy."Since being named director, both Prince-Bythewood and Adeyemi have discussed their alignment on record. In June 2024, Adeyemi sang the director’s praises in an interview with Elle. “What Gina does so well is tell these deep, complex stories of women who look like us front and center, with incredible action set pieces, incredible cinematography,” she said. “It feels divine. It feels bigger than [just] making this project. We’re really in sync.” This month, Prince-Bythewood told Essence that co-signing on the film with Adeyemi “was everything.” She said they were aligned through scripting, artwork and more. “And that's inspiring as a director because again, we're here because of something that came from her and we want to honor that,” the director said.AdvertisementADVERTISEMENTJanuary 22, 2025: The principal cast draws initial criticismThuso Mbedu, Damson Idris and Amandla Stenberg lead this ensemble cast, which also includes Viola Davis, Regina King, Idris Elba, Cynthia Erivo, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Zackary Momoh, Tosin Cole and Lashana Lynch. A predominantly Black cast with major star power wasn’t enough to quell audiences’ concerns over certain casting choices, however. Readers called out colorism after Stenberg was announced as one of the main protagonists, who is described as having “dark copper skin” and contends with colorism and fatphobia in the book. Folks also took issue with a lack of Nigerian representation, pointing to the novel’s Yoruba roots.Stenberg, who also received similar backlash for playing the role of Starr Carter in The Hate U Give, responded to the criticism in a since-deleted TikTok video posted on February 2025, noting that being “at odds with my own community,” felt more painful than the racism she received from being cast in the Star Wars universe.Photo: Courtesy of Lephatse Motshana/Paramount Pictures.The actor also acknowledged how colorism plays out in the industry and said that she only felt comfortable going after the role after meeting with Adeyemi and getting her blessing. “I had the opportunity to meet Tomi, the novelist, for the first time … And she goes, ‘Amandla, I want you to know that when you were a little girl and you were cast as Rue in The Hunger Games, and people said that Rue’s death wouldn’t be as sad because you’re a Black girl—that inspired me to write this series so that Black girls like you and Black girls of all shades could have a story written about them,’” Stenberg said. “We started crying, and I said to myself, ‘God wants me here.’”During a June 2025 interview, podcaster Zethu Gqola asked Adeyemi about the criticism around the actor’s casting, to which the author responded that she “understand[s] when people are frustrated.” She also addressed the concerns over Nigerian representation.“If you need me to be a punching bag, I get it because just like you, I’ve been hurt so many times by this industry and the feeling of being erased by it.” She added, “If you feel brokenhearted by this, I don’t think you’ll feel like that when you’re sitting in the theaters. I promise you, this world is so beautiful and we’re all in it and that’s so beautiful to me.”During the interview, Adeyemi also noted that the film features Nigerian actors selected from the casting call filmmakers held across the West African country. The film also features Saniyya Sidney, Diaana Babnicova, Bukky Bakray, Ayra Starr, Pamilerin Afolake Ayodeji, Shamz Garuba, Kola Bodunde and Tèmítópé Fágbénlé.At a trailer premiere screening in Brooklyn on Monday, Prince-Bythewood said the film is “beautifully inspired by Nigeria and also inclusive of the whole diaspora. We wanted all of us to be able to see ourselves within this, just our complete and utter humanity, all the beautiful hues.”AdvertisementADVERTISEMENTJuly 4, 2026: Adeyemi begins distancing herself from the filmThe author posted a cryptic TikTok video stating that she would not be watching the film. “There is a reason I will not post anything about the adaptation of my work. That’s all,” she wrote in a screenshotted conversation. The video has since been deleted. The post also included screenshots of a conversation between herself and Stenberg stemming from a text exchange in February 2025, around the time Stenberg posted their response to the casting criticism. “Do not ever use my name in an interview or video again. Do not text me. Do not call me,” the message read, according to the Los Angeles Times. Adeyemi also appeared to have blocked Stenberg.Adeyemi was also noticeably absent from a special sneak peak screening at CinemaCon in April 2026.July 29, 2026 Adeyemi recalls the day she left set hyperventilatingThe day after Paramount released the film’s first trailer, Ayedemi shared a five-minute long TikTok discussing an undisclosed traumatic experience she had which prompted her to leave the “set of my own film adaptation, hyperventilating and sobbing.” Though she doesn’t go into much detail, she claims that she continued to be “antagonised” even after her departure. The author stated that if she didn’t ring the alarm, things would only get worse. She stated that she “suffered such severe somatic pain and so many panic attacks,” upon returning from Cape Town to America after filming. “I knew it was so bad that I would never ever be able to watch this film, and I made peace with that,” she said. AdvertisementADVERTISEMENTPhoto: Courtesy of Lephatse Motshana/Paramount Pictures.What’s next?We’re still six months away from this film’s release. Whether audiences find out what the controversy is centered on remains to be seen, especially considering the filmmakers and studio have yet to comment. It’s also too early to say whether or not Children of Virtue and Vengeance and Children of Anguish and Anarchy will also get screen adaptations.Adeyemi was also set to make a cameo in the film. With her current stance on the film, it’s likely her appearance will not make the final cut. Her representatives told People that her current focus is promoting The Siren, her forthcoming novel which releases in September.We’ll update this article with more details as the story unfolds… AdvertisementADVERTISEMENT