Fresh insight into Children of Blood and Bone author's hatred of Viola Davis movie adaptation
Fresh details have emerged on why Children of Blood and Bone author Tomi Adeyemi hates the Viola Davis film adaptation — and they don’t make the feud prettier.
If you thought adaptations were all glitz, glamour, and the author swanning about on red carpets, Children of Blood and Bone says hello and promptly flips that narrative right on its head. The fantasy novel’s journey to the big screen has never exactly been smooth, but new bits have emerged that make the whole saga feel like a masterclass in how creative partnerships can go absolutely sideways—especially when skin tones, social media, and text messages all collide.
Children of Blood and Bone lands in US cinemas 15 January 2027.
Author vs Adaptation: The Rift
The powder keg seemed to go off as soon as the casting was announced. Amandla Stenberg—you’ll know her from The Hate U Give, among other things—was set to play Princess Amari. If you’ve read the novel, you’ll have noticed Amari isn’t written as a light-skinned character, but Stenberg is, and that started raising eyebrows long before costumes or sets were involved. Then it escalated further when Stenberg herself publicly claimed Tomi Adeyemi—the author—was on board with her casting, posting online that:
Tomi is our executive producer and writer now, and I know that’s what she wants to see. She wants to see a world on screen that is vibrant with different skin tones and different shades.
Here’s where it gets murky: behind the scenes, Adeyemi was apparently anything but thrilled about Stenberg putting those words in her mouth. In a text message that later surfaced, Adeyemi told Stenberg to stop using her name in interviews or videos altogether. Not exactly an endorsement, is it?
Set Tensions and Social Media
By the time Adeyemi showed up on set for a planned cameo, things had gone properly icy between her and Stenberg. Sources on the crew have said the tension was thick enough to cut with one of the film’s prop swords. The fallout didn’t vanish once filming wrapped—if anything, it got worse.
This May, Adeyemi washed her hands of the movie in a pretty public way, posting on social media that she 'has not seen the film, and I will not watch it.' She urged her followers to focus on the actual book series instead, going so far as to tell fans: if you want to support her, buy the novels from a local indie bookshop. Then, when the film’s trailer arrived in July 2026, she upped the ante and called the filmmaking process 'the worst thing I have ever had to live through,' capping it off with: 'I never want to hear about this project again.' Not exactly the press push Paramount were no doubt hoping for.
Most recently, Adeyemi’s kept herself away from the film’s promotional trail and has said she felt 'antagonized behind the scenes'—suggesting that whatever happened wasn’t just about casting, but how she was treated during the whole project.