Paramount Pictures has released the first full trailer for Children of Blood and Bone, the film adaptation of Tomi Adeyemi's bestselling 2018 fantasy novel — but the author says she will have nothing to do with promoting it.

The trailer dropped on 28 July 2026, according to The Hollywood Reporter. It is set to excerpts of Beyoncé's 2022 song "Energy" and introduces audiences to the world of Orïsha, an alternate-history pre-colonial West African kingdom where magic has been suppressed and a young woman named Zélie Adebola fights to bring it back.

South African actress Thuso Mbedu plays Zélie, the lead role. The cast is stacked: Idris Elba, Cynthia Erivo, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Regina King, Damson Idris, Lashana Lynch, Amandla Stenberg, Tosin Cole, Viola Davis, Zackary Momoh, and Saniyya Sidney all feature. Ejiofor plays King Saran, the ruthless antagonist; Stenberg plays Princess Amari; Cole plays Tzain; and Erivo plays a character named Kaea, per Deadline.

Gina Prince-Bythewood directed the film and co-wrote the screenplay with Adeyemi herself, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Paramount closed its CinemaCon presentation in April 2026 with the project, bringing Prince-Bythewood and cast members on stage, Paramount confirmed. The studio also released a featurette titled "Inside the World of Orïsha" on its YouTube channel the day before the trailer, on 27 July.

The film is based on the first book in Adeyemi's Legacy of Orïsha trilogy, a New York Times bestseller that became a publishing sensation for its West African-inspired fantasy world. Paramount is releasing the film in both standard and IMAX theatres on 15 January 2027, per Variety.

What makes the launch unusual is the author's absence from it. Adeyemi has publicly distanced herself from the adaptation. She posted a TikTok video with the message: "There is a reason I will not post anything about the adaptation of my work. That's all," as reported by The Hollywood Reporter.

The friction appears to extend to the cast. Adeyemi reportedly sent a message to Stenberg reading: "Do not ever use my name in an interview or video again. Do not text me. Do not call me," and appeared to have blocked the actress, The Hollywood Reporter reported. No further details on the cause of the rift have been made public.

For a film of this scale, an author sitting out the press tour is rare. Adaptations of beloved novels lean heavily on the original writer's endorsement to rally existing fans. Paramount still has nearly six months before release to shape its campaign around the cast and director rather than the source material's creator.