Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni's rift jeopardizes film's sequel
Rumours of a conflict between the stars of the film "It Ends With Us": Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni, might ruin the chances of a sequel to the box-office hit. According to Variety reports, doubts about whether these two actors can collaborate on set cast a shadow over a potential sequel.
The film, an adaptation of Colleen Hoover's bestselling book, features Lively and Baldoni in the lead roles. Baldoni, in addition to directing, also produced the film through his company, Wayfarer Studios, and Lively was one of the co-producers. The sequel to the book, "It Starts With Us," could further develop Lively's character, Lily Bloom. However, Baldoni has the right to adapt both books, complicating Lively's involvement without his participation.
Speculations about Lively and Baldoni's disagreement arose when it was revealed that they did not jointly promote the film and even watched it separately during the New York premiere on 6 August. The crisis concerning their mutual relations was intensified by controversies surrounding Lively's responses to questions about domestic violence in the film. It alleged disputes over the movie's final cut, which was said to align more with Lively's preferences.
Despite the speculation and behind-the-scenes drama, the film "It Ends With Us" was a huge success, bringing in over £157 million in revenue worldwide. However, the tensions between Lively and Baldoni pose a significant obstacle to a potential sequel, despite Baldoni's suggested possibilities of involving Lively in directing the sequel. For now, the series' future remains uncertain, and representatives of both actors have yet to comment on the matter.
A Variety source revealed that the actors' relationship is beyond repair and that "there's probably no world where these two will work together again."
