Tomi Adeyemi says she will not watch Children of Blood and Bone film

Tomi Adeyemi says she does not plan to watch the film of her own bestselling novel, Children of Blood and Bone. She also said she will never turn another of her books into a film after her experience on this production, in an interview published by The Guardian on 27 September and summarised by Variety.

“It is not really for her to watch,” Adeyemi said of the adaptation, meaning a film based on her book. Her words were reported by Variety on 28 September. The position has not changed since the summer.

Adeyemi described making the film as the worst thing she had ever lived through. She said she was left hyperventilating and sobbing on set, as reported by Variety. That language matches what she said in July.

She also alleged she was still being antagonised behind the scenes and suffered severe somatic pain and panic attacks after returning to America when filming wrapped, according to the same Variety report. Somatic pain means physical symptoms linked to stress. Adeyemi declined to give specifics about what happened, saying she will not go into detail.

Asked about casting choices, Adeyemi said the director makes every decision and these were not her choices, as reported by Variety. The film is directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood. Its cast includes Thuso Mbedu, Damson Idris, Amandla Stenberg, Cynthia Erivo, Lashana Lynch, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Regina King, Idris Elba and Viola Davis.

The film is scheduled to reach theatres on 15 January. It is a Paramount production of Adeyemi’s fantasy novel, which follows a young woman seeking to restore magic to a fictional African kingdom. Adeyemi first spoke publicly about leaving the set in distress in a five-minute TikTok video in July, which was covered by The Guardian on 30 July.

For readers, this means the author will not be part of the promotion in the usual way. The film will arrive without her endorsement.