Author Tomi Adeyemi is distancing herself from the long-anticipated Children of Blood and Bone movie adaptation, has publicly addressed it herself on her social media, and it may be over a dispute with actor Amandla Stenberg.
On July 4, Adeyemi took to TikTok to post a video addressing commenters who asked her why she wasn't promoting the movie anymore. “I’m answering this question once and for all,” she wrote in the caption.
She then shared screenshots of her own community chat on Instagram, called “the tominators 🦾,” from June 25. “There is a reason I will not post anything about the adaptation of my work. That's all,” a first message reads. “From this point on, if you want to support me, you can purchase any edition of the trilogy at a local independent children's bookstore,” a second message continues, with NYC's Books of Wonder as a suggestion in brackets. (The Children of Blood and Bone movie is an adaptation of the first book in Adeyemi’s best-selling trilogy, known as the Legacy of Orïsha.)
Adeyemi then also included a screenshot of an apparent conversation with Stenberg, whose contact shows as blocked and saved with a “🚫 cbb” preceding her name. She shared the screenshot on both her Instagram and public TikTok. The message appears to be from February 28, 2025, and reads: “Do not ever use my name in an interview or video again. Do not text me. Do not call me.” Stenberg's previous message in the chain is partially blocked, but the words “my only hope was to reconnect as human beings” can be seen at a point.
Over on her community, Adeyemi also shared a voice note for her fans. “I’m going to leave it at this. You are the only people I care about. I have fought for this for 14 years, and if you ever felt like I didn’t care about you, it was only because I could not speak to you contractually.”
She also added a message confirming she has “not seen the film” and “will not watch it.” She added: “It’s been painful holding this back from you all and I’m sorry if any of you thought I didn’t care.”
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Replying to a commenter on TikTok, Adeyemi added: “I do not mind anyone going to watch the film. 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.”
News of Adeyemi’s disengagement from the film comes just five months shy of its scheduled January 15, 2027, premiere. When it was announced that Paramount Pictures had bought back the rights in 2022, Adeyemi was attached to the project as both a co-scriptwriter, alongside director Gina Prince-Bythewood, and executive producer. Leading up to production, she often posted updates on her social media.
In January 2025, it was announced that Stenberg, known for projects like The Hunger Games, The Acolyte, and Bodies, Bodies, Bodies, had been cast as Princess Amari, the daughter of Chiwetel Ejiofor’s King Saran and sister to Damson Idris’s Prince Inan. Stenberg's casting immediately ignited debates about colorism. Stenberg reportedly claimed to have gotten Adeyemi's blessing in a since-deleted TikTok defending her casting choice.
As Teen Vogue previously reported, filming for the adaptation took place from mid-February to early June 2025. Adeyemi herself posted a since-deleted picture from the beginning of production to her Instagram in February, just days before her apparent exchange with Stenberg, so it’s unclear if she was present for the rest of the production.
Since wrapping filming, the cast of Children of Blood and Bone and Prince-Bythewood have all gone on to actively promote the film, appearing at CinemaCon 2026 during a Paramount Pictures panel for a “first taste” of the upcoming project.
In a 2024 interview with Elle, Adeyemi spoke about her working relationship to Prince-Bythewood, calling her “the calmest force of nature I’ve ever witnessed.” She added that “collaborating with her has been so much fun.” “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. It feels divine. It feels bigger than [just] making this project. We’re really in sync,” she continued.
Replying to a comment on her TikTok video this month, Adeyemi wrote: “All final decisions are the director's and they always have been. If you were told they were mine, you were lied to on purpose.”
Teen Vogue has reached out to representatives of Adeyemi and Stenberg for comment.
