Gina Prince-Bythewood responds to Tomi Adeyemi’s criticism of ‘Children of Blood and Bone’ adaptation

Gina Prince-Bythewood has responded to novelist Tomi Adeyemi’s public criticism of the film adaptation of Children of Blood and Bone, offering a sharply different account of their work together. In an interview published October 8, the director said she could not speak for Adeyemi’s personal experience, but described the adaptation process from her perspective as collaborative and creatively rewarding. The comments arrive months after Adeyemi said that working on the Paramount production caused profound emotional and physical distress and that she does not plan to watch the completed film.

Prince-Bythewood said Adeyemi, who co-wrote the screenplay and serves as an executive producer, gave detailed notes and later returned to help with a final script polish as production approached. The director said Adeyemi’s command of the story and mythology strengthened that work. She also recalled sharing costumes, production design, music and action concepts with the author and said her own experience, along with that of the cast and crew, was positive. That is Prince-Bythewood’s account; it does not resolve or disprove what Adeyemi says she experienced.

Adeyemi’s account has been substantially different. In a July video, she described the adaptation as the worst experience she had lived through and said she left the set hyperventilating and crying. She later told The Guardian that she experienced severe pain and panic attacks after returning home. In a September interview, the author said she still did not intend to watch the movie and would never again adapt one of her books for the screen. She declined to describe the specific incident or incidents behind her distress, saying the long journey through the trilogy and film had taken everything from her.

The public record therefore establishes two firsthand descriptions of the creative process, not a verified explanation for the rupture between them. Prince-Bythewood says the script collaboration and Adeyemi’s presence on set appeared constructive from her vantage point. Adeyemi says the broader experience harmed her and that people connected with the production continued to antagonize her. No publicly available evidence reviewed for this report determines what happened behind the scenes, and neither woman’s private motives should be inferred from the limited details they have disclosed.

Discussion around the movie has also included criticism of Amandla Stenberg’s casting as Princess Amari because the character is described in the novel as dark-skinned. Adeyemi’s earlier social-media posts appeared to include messages telling Stenberg not to invoke the author’s name publicly. When asked later about the casting, Adeyemi did not elaborate and said the film’s choices belonged to the director. Prince-Bythewood has emphasized a vision inspired by Nigeria and inclusive of the wider African diaspora. Those statements illuminate the disagreement but do not establish that the casting debate was the sole or central cause of Adeyemi’s reported distress.

Children of Blood and Bone is scheduled for a January 15, 2027 theatrical release. Based on Adeyemi’s bestselling novel, the fantasy follows Zélie as she fights to restore magic in the fictional African kingdom of Orïsha. Thuso Mbedu leads an ensemble that includes Stenberg, Damson Idris, Tosin Cole, Viola Davis, Regina King, Cynthia Erivo, Lashana Lynch, Idris Elba and Chiwetel Ejiofor. Paramount is positioning the film as a large-scale Black fantasy adventure, a genre space where Black characters have rarely been allowed to occupy the full center of a major studio story.

Prince-Bythewood told ELLE that she initially passed on the project twice before feeling prepared to take on its action, visual effects and world-building. Her résumé now includes Love & Basketball, Beyond the Lights, The Old Guard and The Woman King, projects that helped establish her as one of Hollywood’s most prominent Black women directors. She said Children of Blood and Bone gave its predominantly Black cast a chance to build a fantasy world together instead of appearing as isolated supporting figures in someone else’s story.

That cultural importance does not erase the author’s stated pain, just as Adeyemi’s decision to step away does not by itself establish misconduct by any specific person. The responsible reading is to preserve both accounts and the uncertainty between them. As the release approaches, Paramount and the filmmakers may provide more information, but Adeyemi has made clear that she wants distance from the adaptation. Audiences can recognize the film’s significance, the labor of its Black cast and crew, and the novelist’s right to describe her own experience without turning an unresolved creative conflict into spectacle.