A new book franchise is Hollywood’s latest project in 2022. After a bidding war with several other entertainment companies, Paramount Pictures acquired the rights to the action-fantasy film, “Children of Blood and Bone” trilogy, based on the best-selling YA novels by Tomi Adeyemi.

According to Deadline, Adeyemi will write the script and executive produce the upcoming film. 

“Tomi Adeyemi’s “Children of Blood and Bone” has not only become a phenomenon in the YA world, it has  transformed every expectation of what world-building fantasy can be,” said Co-President of Paramount Pictures Motion Group Daria Cercek. “It’s with enormous pride that our studio — along with Tomi and our partners Wyck, Marty and Karen — set out to bring this franchise to life on the big screen. With its thought-provoking and timely themes, we know that this story will resonate with a global audience.”

Paramount Pictures partnered with Wyck Godfrey and Marty Bowen of Temple Hill Entertainment and Karen Rosenfelt of Sunswept Entertainment to produce the big-screen film adaptation. “Children of Blood and Bone” and its sequel “Children of Virtue and Vengeance” are published by Henry Holt Books for Young Readers. According to sources, the third and final book in the trilogy will be published by 2023, Deadline reported.

The film initially was under contract with Lucasfilm until their rights with the series expired, prompting reps for Adeyemi to shop the project to other well-known companies who were interested. As a result, several studios including, Universal, Amazon, and Netflix, expressed interest in the property, viewing it as one of the most significant independent projects since Hunger Games was released onto the market. 

Though the entertainment companies had many perks to offer, Paramount surpassed the others with an offer that included several incentives, including a seven-figure screenwriting guarantee and creative approvals for Adeyemi. While streamers have competed with companies to release movies at a higher value, the Hollywood studio guaranteed a theatrical release, premiering in theaters across the country and internationally. 

“Paramount’s passion and enthusiasm to bring this story to life has been incredible,” Adeyemi said. “We are all so excited for this new chapter and are already hard at work.”

Adeyemi is a Nigerian-American writer and storyteller based in Los Angeles. Her first novel, “Children of Blood and Bone,” debuted at No. 1 on The New York Times bestseller list. The sequel, “Children of Virtue and Vengeance,” also debuted at No. 1. Adeyemi was also named one of Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in 2020.