Author Tomi Adeyemi Declines to Watch Film Adaptation of ‘Children of Blood & Bone,’ Cites Painful Experience
Tomi Adeyemi, author of the 2018 YA novel 'Children of Blood & Bone,' has publicly stated she will not watch the upcoming Paramount film adaptation directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood, which premieres January 15. The feature film features a high-profile cast including Amandla Stenberg, Chiwetel Ejiofor, and Viola Davis. When addressed by fans about her silence surrounding the project, Adeyemi chose to clarify her position rather than avoid comment.
Adeyemi's decision reflects emotional difficulty with the adaptation process, describing the experience as "painful." She has indicated she is "officially separating" her name from the film, signalling a definitive break between herself and the project. Her public withdrawal from the adaptation marks a notable moment in the often-fraught relationship between literary authors and their screen adaptations, particularly in the young adult genre.
- Author Tomi Adeyemi refuses to watch Paramount's 'Children of Blood & Bone' film adaptation (premiering January 15), describing the process as painful
- The film features Amandla Stenberg, Chiwetel Ejiofor, and Viola Davis under director Gina Prince-Bythewood
- Adeyemi is formally distancing herself from the adaptation despite writing the source 2018 YA novel
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Tomi Adeyemi's novel "Children of Blood & Bone", published in 2018, is a young adult fantasy story that became a bestseller and launched a wider book series. A film version is now being made by Paramount, directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood, with a cast that includes Amandla Stenberg, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Viola Davis, and it is due to open on 15 January.
Adeyemi has said she does not intend to watch the finished film and wants to distance herself from the project, describing the process behind it as difficult. As the person who created the original story, her stance has drawn attention because authors are usually expected to promote adaptations of their work, so a public break of this kind is unusual.
The situation touches on a familiar tension in publishing and film: writers often have limited control once a studio adapts their book, and disagreements can arise over how the story is changed or handled during production. This background helps explain why an author's comments about a film based on their own novel have become newsworthy.
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