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Tomi Adeyemi is committed to ensuring that Paramount's adaptation of her debut novel, Children of Blood and Bone, is a winner. The Nigerian American writer revealed at her spotlight panel at C2E2 that quality was something immensely important for her when it came to seeing her work brought to the big screen. And that's because she doesn't like seeing badly made stories! Adeyemi joked that there were Netflix projects she watched "ten years ago" that still fill her with rage over how poorly done they were. Honestly, I feel the same way. 

So when Adeyemi spent six weeks in South Africa visiting the set of the Children of Blood and Bone movie, directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood, she had high hopes for what she was going to see unfold. However, she wasn't expecting to be so moved right out of the gate. 

Adeyemi said, "I thought I was going to be feeling a certain way by the final battle in the movie, I was like, 'When I see this moment, that's when I'm going to rip the hinges off my seat and throw it at the screen full Hulk-style.' I got there in battle one, in the staff fight. I literally almost threw my chair at the monitor - that's how much adrenaline and female rage and like, [guttural voice] 'YESSSSS' was coursing through my body. And I was like, 'What is our runtime right now? We're four minutes into the movie?' So it's going to be absolutely exceptional."  

To be clear, Adeyemi didn't mean that she wanted to throw a chair because she was angry about how the film was being shot. She felt the urge to throw a chair because of the empathy she had for the characters, fostered by the actors' performances and Prince-Bythewood's direction. If you've seen Prince-Bythewood's previous work with films like The Old Guard, The Woman King, and Beyond the Lights, you know that she knows how to direct a stellar action scene as well as touching emotional beats. 

Also, Adeyemi's reaction is proof that Prince-Bythewood's film is faithfully adapting core elements of Adeyemi's writing. Several times during the panel, she mentioned how she has a "burning" sense of motivation and drive, playfully saying that she "want[s] to fight" all the time ("It's Aries season," she said). If the Children of Blood and Bone film can make the novel's writer verklempt before the biggest action scene of the film takes place, then you know we're in for a wild ride when the film comes out January 15, 2027. I, for one, will be sitting in my cinema seat going, "YESSSSS" at the screen. 

Did you miss a C2E2 Main Stage panel? Don't worry, we're filming it all thanks to our partners at CGC x JSA -  our official authenticator & grading partner. Here is the C2E2 2025 panel list and release schedule.