Gina Prince-Bythewood celebrates Tomi Adeyemi’s ‘Children of Blood and Bone’ amid tension over film adaptation

The filmmaker praised Adeyemi’s novel and said she could speak only to her own experience making the highly anticipated movie.

Gina Prince-Bythewood praised Tomi Adeyemi’s novel “Children of Blood and Bone” at New York Comic Con, months after the author publicly distanced herself from its film adaptation. Adeyemi also canceled a separate panel about her new book, “The Siren,” at the convention. No reason for the cancellation was confirmed.

Speaking at an Oct. 10 panel moderated by filmmaker Rian Johnson, Prince-Bythewood said her interest in directing the film began with Adeyemi’s 2018 bestseller. “Everything that was in those pages that Tomi wrote is everything that makes a great film,” she said, People reported.

She described the novel as an “extraordinary story of characters,” citing its gods, creatures, magic, battles, kingdoms and heroes. The film follows Zélie Adebola as she fights to restore magic to the fictional kingdom of Orïsha.

In July, Adeyemi described a painful experience working on the film. She said she left the set “hyperventilating and sobbing” and suffered panic attacks after returning to the United States. She also accused unnamed people involved in the production of continuing to antagonize her and said she would not watch or promote the movie.

Adeyemi co-wrote the screenplay with Prince-Bythewood and is credited as an executive producer. She has not publicly detailed everything that happened during production.

Asked about Adeyemi’s comments in an ELLE interview published Oct. 8, Gina Prince-Bythewood said she could speak only about her own experience and called the adaptation process “beautiful.” She said Adeyemi helped with a final polish of the script before filming, drawing on her knowledge of the story’s mythology.

Thuso Mbedu stars as Zélie, with Amandla Stenberg playing Princess Amari and Damson Idris portraying Prince Inan. Cynthia Erivo, Lashana Lynch, Regina King, Idris Elba and Viola Davis are also among the cast. Erivo said at the panel that the novel’s Nigerian roots were familiar to her.

“Children of Blood and Bone” is scheduled to open in theaters Jan. 15, 2027.