Controversy has followed Amandla Stenberg from a galaxy far, far away straight into the kingdom of Orïsha.
Children of Blood and Bone author Tomi Adeyemi has publicly disowned Paramount’s upcoming big-budget adaptation of her own novel — and cut off Stenberg entirely.
Adeyemi, who co-wrote the screenplay with director Gina Prince-Bythewood, confirmed via DMs shared to her TikTok that she has no intention of ever seeing the finished film.
“I have not seen the film, and I will not watch it,” Adeyemi wrote. She also said staying silent about the adaptation has been painful and apologized to fans who assumed she didn’t care.
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Tomi Adeyemi Tells Amandla Stenberg: “Do Not Ever Use My Name”
The author didn’t stop there.
Adeyemi also posted a screenshot of a DM she sent directly to Stenberg, who plays Princess Amari in the film: “Do not ever use my name in an interview or video again.”
Per Deadline, the message also told Stenberg not to text or call her. The DM was dated late February, right around the time Stenberg was publicly responding to accusations of taking roles from dark-skinned actresses, as fans pointed out Amari is described in the book as having dark copper skin.
@zzeynics there was zero need to get physical….. and try and lock me in the building….. then chasing me out to my car….. *** update: tysm for all the support and love fr 🗣️❤️ BUT the business removed their google page. PLSSSS do not leave any bad reviews on random businesses!!! **** #saskatoon ♬ original sound – zey
What apparently set Adeyemi off was Stenberg recounting a personal story in an interview about meeting the author.
Stenberg claimed Adeyemi told her that the racist backlash Stenberg received as Rue in The Hunger Games inspired her to write the series so Black girls of all shades could have a story written about them. Stenberg said the two cried together and that she took it as a sign from God that she belonged in the movie.
Judging by Adeyemi’s response, the author saw it very differently and used the moment to publicly torch the project she spent nearly a decade trying to get made.
Amandla Stenberg Brings The Acolyte Baggage To Paramount
If this all sounds familiar, it should.
Stenberg starred in Disney’s The Acolyte, the most expensive flop in Star Wars streaming history, which a Disney exec admitted was canceled because no one watched it.
Rather than take the L, Stenberg blamed the fans for the cancellation, her stans went after YouTubers who covered the show’s demise, and Stenberg eventually deleted her Instagram amid the fan backlash.
Star Wars was named the biggest loser of 2024 in no small part thanks to that debacle.
Stenberg only returned to Instagram earlier this year to promote the first Children of Blood and Bone footage, and now the author of the source material is telling her to never speak her name again.
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Lucasfilm Lost It. Paramount Won It. Now The Author Wants Nothing To Do With It
There’s an extra layer of irony here.
Children of Blood and Bone was originally set up at Lucasfilm under Kathleen Kennedy following the Disney-Fox merger, before the studio let the rights lapse in 2021. Adeyemi reportedly grew frustrated with the pace and was denied the chance to write the script.
Paramount won the ensuing bidding war and gave her exactly what Lucasfilm wouldn’t: a screenwriting credit and an executive producer title.
Now she’s refusing to watch the result.
Paramount’s Fantasy Franchise Launch Has An Author Problem
The timing could not be worse for Paramount.
Children of Blood and Bone opens January 15, 2027 over the four-day MLK holiday weekend in IMAX, a major fantasy franchise bet greenlit by the previous Paramount regime that now lands squarely in David Ellison’s lap.
The movie was acquired, cast, and completely filmed before the Skydance merger closed last August, meaning Ellison inherited it in post-production.
Whether the remaining two books in Adeyemi’s Legacy of Orïsha trilogy ever get adapted is now his call.
The cast is stacked: Thuso Mbedu, Damson Idris, Tosin Cole, Viola Davis, Idris Elba, Cynthia Erivo, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Lashana Lynch, and Regina King join Stenberg. Prince-Bythewood is also coming off The Woman King.
But franchises are built on goodwill, and it’s hard to sell a trilogy when the creator of the source material is publicly boycotting the first movie six months before it opens.
The author’s fanbase is the built-in audience Paramount is counting on, and Adeyemi just told them, in effect, that the movie isn’t worth her time.
Box office will be the final arbiter, as always. But between the colorism casting backlash, the Stenberg baggage, and now the author going scorched earth, this is exactly the kind of inherited liability that gets quietly wound down after one film if the opening weekend disappoints.
Ellison is already resetting the studio around proven franchises, and a YA fantasy trilogy walking into January with a target on its back doesn’t fit that playbook.
Matt McGloin is the editor-in-chief and publisher of Cosmic Book News, the independent entertainment news site he founded in 2008. He covers movies, comics, TV, video games and pop culture and has reported major industry scoops over the years, including revealing the Avengers: Endgame title ahead of its official announcement. Through Cosmic Book News, he helped Marvel Comics promote Guardians of the Galaxy and Nova through exclusive previews, artwork, and interviews, with the site also quoted in solicitations and on comic covers. He also reported on Marvel’s Daredevil: Born Again retooling before it was later confirmed by the trades.