Tomi Adeyemi, author of the bestselling novel “Children of Blood and Bone,” says making the film adaptation of her own book became one of the most painful experiences of her life. In a five-minute video posted to social media Wednesday, one day after Paramount unveiled the movie’s first trailer at a launch event in Brooklyn, Adeyemi said she left the production set “hyperventilating and sobbing” and claimed she has continued facing hostility from people involved with the project in the roughly eighteen months since.
Adeyemi, who co-wrote the screenplay alongside director Gina Prince-Bythewood and serves as an executive producer, stopped short of naming who she believes mistreated her or detailing what triggered the incident. She said the fallout followed her back to the United States, where she experienced physical symptoms and repeated panic attacks severe enough to convince her she would never be able to watch the finished film. “I never want to hear about this project again,” she said, adding that she has made peace with stepping back entirely.
The comments build on tension that surfaced earlier this month, when Adeyemi shared and later deleted a screenshot appearing to show a message she sent to star Amandla Stenberg, who plays Princess Amari in the film, instructing her not to mention Adeyemi’s name in interviews or contact her directly. Adeyemi has not clarified what led to that exchange, and representatives for Paramount, Prince-Bythewood and Adeyemi have not commented publicly on the specifics.
The film has drawn a high-profile cast including Stenberg alongside Viola Davis, Cynthia Erivo, Idris Elba, Lashana Lynch and Chiwetel Ejiofor, and was shot across locations in South Africa and the Canary Islands. Prince-Bythewood, whose previous credits include “The Old Guard” and “The Woman King,” has described the source material’s fantasy version of Africa as central to the project’s appeal, saying the ensemble reflects the breadth of the African diaspora. The production underwent reshoots earlier this year, a detail that has fueled speculation among fans about the extent of changes made to Adeyemi’s original screenplay.
Adeyemi’s novel, first published in 2018, launched her as a major figure in young adult fiction and became the first installment in a trilogy following siblings Zelie and Tzain as they battle a tyrannical king who stripped their kingdom of magic. Despite her public break from the project, “Children of Blood and Bone” remains on schedule for an IMAX release on January 15, 2027.
