A major movie adaptation of a buzzy YA book series is set to arrive in theaters on January 15, 2027 but it will do so without the enthusiastic participation of its author. Tomi Adeyemi published Children of Blood and Bone, the first book in her “Legacy of Orïsha” series, in March 2018 and it quickly became a canon #BookTok fantasy favorite. The novel follows heroine Zélie Adebola as she lives under a corrupt monarchy that kills her mother and destroys the presence of magic in Orïsha. Zélie works to restore magic back to her kingdom and rebel against the oppressive monarchy.cnx.cmd.push(function() {cnx({playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530",}).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796");});The novel has all the makings for a fantasy sleeper hit, with its loyal fandom, unique magic system, and celebration of Black culture. The film – directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood and starring Thuso Mbedu (Mufasa), Amandla Stenberg (The Hate You Give) Cynthia Erivo (Wicked), Viola Davis (The Woman King), Damson Idris (Masters Of The Universe), and Regina King (Shirley) – has the potential to expand the fandom and further the Legacy of Orïsha franchise.But when the cast and crew of the film adaptation showed sneak peeks at CinemaCon back in April, the previously-involved Adeyemi was noticeably absent, according to Deadline. Then, on July 4, Adeyemi took to TikTok to clarify why she no longer promotes the project on her social pages. In the video she provided screenshots of texts from her instagram channel stating, “There is a reason I will not post anything about the adaptation of my book” along with “I have not seen the film, and I will not watch it.” She also shared a text message she sent to Stenberg [set to play Princess Amari], “Do not ever use my name in an interview or a video ever again. Do not text me. Do not call me.” The screenshot shows that Adeyemi had blocked Sternberg after sending this message back in February 2025. Around that time Stenberg posted a TikTok video addressing the colorism allegations over her casting in the movie. Stenberg discusses going to dinner with Adeyemi and claims that Adeyemi took inspiration behind the racist backlash Stenberg received for her role as Rue in The Hunger Games for this book series. Stenberg deleted this post from her TikTok page. The specific details that influenced Adeyemi’s full departure from the project are unknown but is possibly a dispute over her involvement in the film’s script. The Hollywood Reporter previously reported on her win in the fight to write the screenplay amid the film’s shift from Lucasfilm to Paramount back in 2022, a shift Adeyemi heavily advocated for after Lucasfilm continually denied her request to write the script. When signing with Paramount, her writing the screenplay was reportedly a nonnegotiable term. Adeyemi posted multiple TikToks in March and April of 2025 sharing sneak peeks into her “life as a writer whose books are being turned into movies” seeming to be heavily involved and excited for the film. This makes her departure from the film unexpected for fans. Decisions must have been made between 2025 and now that made Adeyemi unhappy with the outcome of this film. Today, Adeyemi posted another TikTok following stating that “Everything that has been occurring has been occurring behind the scenes since I was 24 years old. Young gifted child + Hollywood + massive capital interests = tragedy always. Add dark skin + natural hair and you have even more people who will do whatever they can to destroy you.” The struggles of book to movie adaptations are not unique to Adeyemi, and many authors have historically been left unhappy or excluded from the production of their book’s take on film. When asked in 2004 if the 2003 adaptation of A Wrinkle in Time met her expectations, author Madeleine L’Engle replied, “Oh, yes. I expected it to be bad, and it is.” Stephen King, an author who is no stranger to book adaptations, famously disowns The Shining despite it being a fan favorite. King had written a screenplay of The Shining but told The Paris Review “I doubt [Stanley] Kubrick ever read it before making his film.”The processes of writing a book and producing a film are vastly different, sometimes making it hard for film producers and authors to completely mesh in these projects. The editing of a screenplay is also often more collaborative than a novel. The original script is edited heavily by multiple different aspects of the filming process like improv scene cuts, and the stakeholders involved are motivated by the film’s financial success, making the decisions making processes more of a group task rather than individual. Perhaps Adeyemi’s original screenplay was edited to an extent that she no longer recognized it as her own work, leading to her decision to remove herself from the promotion of the film and the people involved in the project. Adeyemi clarified in her TikTok comments, “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.” The post Children of Blood and Bone Controversy Reveals the Perils of Adaptation appeared first on Den of Geek.