Tomi Adeyemi says she will never allow another book adaptation
Summary
Author Tomi Adeyemi has gone on record saying she will not watch the upcoming film based on her novel Children of Blood and Bone, and has ruled out any future adaptations of her work. Her remarks expand on a viral TikTok post from July in which she described the adaptation process
Tomi Adeyemi, author of the bestselling 2018 fantasy novel Children of Blood and Bone, says she has no intention of watching the Hollywood adaptation of her book and will not allow any of her future work to be adapted for film or television. The statements, made in a recent interview with The Guardian, build on a TikTok video she posted in late July that drew widespread attention.\n\nIn that earlier video, Adeyemi described the adaptation experience as deeply distressing, saying visits to the film's set had left her in physical and emotional distress. She also indicated she had been affected in the months following the completion of principal photography.\n\nSpeaking to The Guardian, Adeyemi defended her choice to air her concerns publicly. "I understood that if I didn't speak up, I couldn't move forward," she told the outlet. She declined to go into specific details about what occurred during production, but described the overall journey as all-consuming.\n\nThe film was directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood, whose previous credits include The Woman King. It features an ensemble cast that includes Viola Davis, Idris Elba, Regina King, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Damson Idris, Amandla Stenberg, Cynthia Erivo, and Lashana Lynch, among others.\n\nChildren of Blood and Bone is currently scheduled to open in US cinemas on January 15, 2027.
The Kinolime Lens
Adeyemi’s experience is a sobering reminder that adaptation isn’t simply about taking a story from one medium to another — it can mean handing something deeply personal over to an entirely different creative process. For screenwriters, there’s a useful lesson here about the importance of understanding what changes when a story moves into production, and how much trust that transition requires. Hopefully, the conversation also encourages better communication between the people who create a story and the people tasked with bringing it to the screen.