Legendary Fantasy Author Officially Disowns Upcoming Movie Adaptation



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The fantasy genre in recent years has been largely landlocked to the television space, largely thanks to the massive popularity of Game of Thrones and its two very successful spin-offs, House of the Dragon and A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. Other examples include Netflix’s The Witcher, Prime Video’s The Wheel of Time, and many more, but the genre is making a big return to the big screen in the coming years, such as several The Lord of the Rings spin-offs from Peter Jackson in active development. However, one of next year’s most anticipated projects is now facing a new bout of controversy that feels eerily similar to George R.R. Martin‘s ongoing feud with House of the Dragon showrunner Ryan Condal.

After years in development hell, Children of Blood & Bone, the beloved first installment of the Legacy of Orïsha trilogy, is finally set to hit the big screen in early 2027 with a star-studded cast to boot. The excitement from fans ever since the news has been palpable, but now, things have taken a turn as original series creator and book author Tomi Adeyemi has officially disowned the upcoming adaptation in a recent social media post, saying “I have not seen the film and I will not watch it” in a collection of direct messages she shared online. Adeyemi didn’t elaborate on specifics for the “painful” falling out with the upcoming project, although one message shared draws specifically to a message to star Amandla Stenberg, saying, “Do not ever use my name in an interview or video again. Do not text me. Do not call me.”

Stenberg, who has long been a target of fan backlash across franchises for her roles in the original The Hunger Games and the divisive Star Wars spin-off The Acolyte, has also faced controversy over her role in the adaptation of Children of Blood & Bone. In February 2025, Stenberg officially responded to accusations that the actor was “stealing roles from dark-skinned women” by using a story that claimed Adeyemi wrote the Legacy of Orïsha novels after being inspired by the racist backlash Stenberg received after being cast in The Hunger Games. It is worth noting that, according to the DMs shared by Adeyemi, the falling out between the author and Stenberg took place after the following comments about their creative collaborations:

“I had the opportunity to meet Tomi, the novelist, for the first time. Then, she goes, ‘Amandla, I want you to know that when you were a little girl and were cast as Rue in The Hunger Games, and you had these racist remarks thrown at you because people said that Rue’s death wouldn’t be as sad because you’re a Black girl — that inspired me to write this series, so that Black girls like you and Black girls of all shades could have a story written about them.’ We just started crying, and I said to myself, ‘God wants me here!'”





















































Collider Exclusive · Middle-earth Quiz
Which Lord of the Rings
Character Are You?

One Quiz · Ten Questions · Your Fate Revealed

The road goes ever on. From the green hills of the Shire to the fires of Mount Doom, every soul in Middle-earth carries a destiny. Ten questions stand between you and the truth of who you are. Answer honestly — the One Ring has a way of revealing what we most want to hide.

💍Frodo

🌿Samwise

👑Aragorn

🔥Gandalf

🏹Legolas

⚒️Gimli

👁️Sauron

🪨Gollum

01

You are handed a responsibility that could destroy you. What do you do?
The weight of the world falls on unlikely shoulders.




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Your closest companion is heading into terrible danger. You:
True loyalty is revealed not in comfort, but in crisis.




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Enormous power is within your reach. Your instinct is:
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When a battle is upon you, your approach is:
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Someone comes to you for advice in their darkest hour. You:
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Which of these best describes your relationship with the natural world?
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You encounter a wretched, pitiable creature who has done terrible things. You:
How we treat the fallen reveals the height of our character.




10

When the quest is over and the songs are sung, what do you hope they say about you?
In the end, we are all just stories.




The Fellowship Has Spoken
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The scores below reveal your true character. Your highest number is your match. Even a tie tells a story — the Fellowship was never made of simple people.

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Frodo

🌿
Samwise

👑
Aragorn

🔥
Gandalf

🏹
Legolas

⚒️
Gimli

👁️
Sauron

🪨
Gollum

You carry something heavy — and you carry it alone, even when you don’t have to. You were not born for greatness, and that is precisely why greatness chose you. Your courage is not the roaring, sword-swinging kind; it is quiet, stubborn, and terrifying in its refusal to quit. The Ring weighs on you more than anyone can see, and still you walk toward the fire. That is not weakness. That is the rarest kind of strength there is.

You are, without question, the best of them. Not the most powerful, not the most celebrated — but the most essential. Your loyalty is not a trait; it is a force of nature. You would carry the person you love up the slopes of Mount Doom if it came to that, and we both know you’d do it without being asked. The world needs more people like you, and the world is lucky it has even one.

You were born to lead, and you have spent years running from it. The crown is yours by right, but you know better than anyone that right means nothing without the will and the worthiness to back it up. You are tempered by loss, shaped by long roads, and defined by a code of honour you hold to even when no one is watching. When you finally step forward, the world shifts. Because it was always waiting for you.

You have seen more than you let on, and you say less than you know — which is exactly as it should be. You are a catalyst: you do not fight the battles yourself, you ignite the people who can. Your wisdom comes not from books but from an age of watching what happens when it is ignored. You arrive precisely when you mean to, and your presence alone changes what is possible. A wizard is never late.

Graceful, perceptive, and almost preternaturally calm under pressure — you see things others miss and act before others react. You do not need to make a scene to be remarkable; your presence speaks for itself. You are loyal to those you choose to stand beside, and that choice is not made lightly. You have lived long enough to know that the most beautiful things in this world are also the most fragile, and that is why you fight to protect them.

You are loud, proud, and absolutely formidable — and beneath all of that is one of the most fiercely loyal hearts in Middle-earth. You don’t do anything by half measures. Your friendships are forged like iron, your grudges run as deep as mines, and your courage in battle is the kind that makes legends. You came into this fellowship suspicious of everyone and ended it willing to die for an elf. That is not a small thing. That is everything.

You think in centuries and act in absolutes. Order, dominion, control — not because you are cruel by nature, but because you have decided that the world left to itself always falls apart, and you are the only one with the vision and the will to hold it together. You were not always this. Something was lost, or taken, or betrayed, and the version of you that stands now is the answer to that wound. The tragedy is that you’re not entirely wrong — just entirely too far gone to course-correct.

You are a study in contradiction — pitiable and dangerous, cunning and broken, capable of both cruelty and something that once resembled love. You are defined by loss: of innocence, of self, of the one thing that gave your existence meaning. Two voices war inside you constantly, and the tragedy is that the better one sometimes wins, just not often enough, and never at the right moment. You are a warning, yes — but also a mirror. We are all a little Gollum, given the right ring and enough time.

What Is ‘Children of Blood & Bone’ About?

The front cover of 'Children of Blood and Bone' by Tomi Adeyemi Image via Henry Holt Books for Young Readers

A fantasy saga set in a fictional African kingdom, Children of Blood & Bone follows a young girl’s quest to recover an ancient magical artifact after thieves take a hold of it. Widely considered to be one of the best YA fantasy novels of the last decade, if done correctly, and adaptation of Children of Blood & Bone has the potential to be on same level as the Harry Potter and Percy Jackson franchises. In addition to Amandla Stenberg, the cast also consists of Viola Davis, Idris Elba, Cynthia Erivo, Regina King, and Chiwetel Ejiofor.

Children of Blood & Bone releases in theaters on January 15, 2026. Stay tuned to Collider for more updates.


01585757_poster_w780-1.jpg


Release Date

January 15, 2027

Director

Gina Prince-Bythewood

Writers

Gina Prince-Bythewood, Tomi Adeyemi

Producers

Reggie Rock Bythewood, Wyck Godfrey, Karen Rosenfelt, Marty Bowen



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Aidan Kelley
Almontather Rassoul

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