The team behind the latest box office hit It Ends With Us were set a tricky task: transform a hugely popular yet controversial novel about domestic violence into a big-screen romance. Already hard enough, but before the film was even released, behind-the-scenes tension involving the actors, producers and director threatened to derail the entire project. A number of confusing and occasionally bizarre incidents throughout the film’s press tour have fuelled speculation over a rift within the cast, with leading lady Blake Lively ( Gossip Girl ) on one side and director and leading man Justin Baldoni ( Jane the Virgin ) on the other.
Stars of It Ends With Us, Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively, are rumoured to be feuding. What could this mean for an already controversial film? Credit: Sony Pictures via AP What that means is It Ends With Us has joined 2022’s Don’t Worry Darling as a movie now swallowed up by the rumour mill and off-screen drama. The film is based on Colleen Hoover’s wildly popular romance novel, which was published in 2016 and sent viral by TikTokers during the pandemic.
Loosely inspired by Hoover’s parents’ relationship, it follows florist Lily Bloom (Lively) who is swept up in a whirlwind romance with neurosurgeon Ryle (Baldoni). The relationship eventually turns violent, mirroring some of Lily’s previous experiences of abuse. Meanwhile, she reconnects with an old lover.
To date, about 6.9 million copies of the book (physical and digital) have been sold. It has been on the New York Times bestseller list for 132 weeks, currently sitting at the top despite being over seven years old.
However, despite its sensitive subject matter, it lacks content warnings and is generally marketed as a “romance” novel, which some readers argue trivialises or confuses its serious themes. The movie has been in cinemas for less than a week yet has already grossed over $121 million worldwide, far exceeding projections. Some reviewers have suggested the film, as well as its promotion and marketing, romanticises intimate partner abuse, with this masthead’s reviewer saying the filmmakers “postponed the bad news until they [had] milked the romantic possibilities of Lily and Ryle’s relationship for all their worth”.
Signs of potential discord emerged during the film’s press tour, when Baldoni appeared isolated from the main cast. He posed alone on the red carpet, or with those uninvolved with the movie, and conducted solo interviews. Conversely, Lively, who also co-executive produced the film, was photographed with multiple co-stars, including Brandon Sklenar and Jenny Slate .
An interview with Slate fuelled speculation after the actress awkwardly avoided answering a question about what it was like to work with Baldoni as both director and scene partner. Further, it appears none of the main cast (except Hasan Minhaj , a comedian who has a supporting role) follow Baldoni on the platform, while he follows them all. There have also been whispers of creative differences within the team.
According to The Hollywood Reporter , Lively commissioned a different cut of the movie from Deadpool & Wolverine editor Shane Reid. However, it’s unclear if that was used. At the New York premiere last week, Lively told E! News her husband Ryan Reynolds, star of the recent Deadpool & Wolverine movie, helped write parts of the It Ends With Us screenplay, including the “iconic rooftop scene”.
Notably, the film’s screenwriter Christy Hall told People she wasn’t aware Reynolds had worked on the dialogue. This led to rumours Lively and Reynolds wrenched creative control from Baldoni, fracturing their relationship. Others also questioned whether the couple were attempting to create a “ Barbenheimer 2.
0” given the close release dates and combined marketing efforts of It Ends With Us and Deadpool & Wolverine , and if so, whether this was appropriate for a movie about domestic violence. Despite mixed reviews, Don’t Worry Darling – which was also rocked by behind-the-scenes scandals – grossed nearly $132 million worldwide , largely propelled by intrigue over the backstage controversies. But despite its strong first week, ticket sales declined by 63 per cent in week two, and continued to drop as fascination with the cast dwindled.
It Ends With Us could follow a similar trajectory, initially boosted by gossip, but unable to maintain momentum as speculation dies down. Rumours aside, the film was arguably always in murky territory. But for now, it seems the speculation surrounding It Ends With Us is drowning out the flaws of the film itself.
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