'It Ends With Us' Franchise May End Without a Sequel Amid Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni Feud | THR News Video
The 'It Ends With Us' franchise might end with the feud between Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni. Under ordinary circumstances, a sequel to the film would be a no-brainer. The Sony Pictures movie, which had a budget of $25 million, has already collected more than $180 million globally. But the well-publicized rift between star-producer Blake Lively and director-star Justin Baldoni has observers now wondering whether a sequel is viable, at least with both of them involved. Both Lively's character Lily and Baldoni's character Ryle are in the book sequel titled 'It Starts With Us.'
Transcript
00:00The It Ends With Us franchise might end with the feud between Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni.
00:05Under ordinary circumstances, a sequel to the film would be a no-brainer.
00:09The Sony Pictures movie, which had a budget of $25 million,
00:12has already collected more than $180 million globally.
00:16But the well-publicized rift between star producer Lively and director-star
00:20Baldoni has observers now wondering whether a sequel is viable, at least with both of them
00:24involved. Both Lively's character Lily and Baldoni's character Ryle are in the book sequel
00:29titled It Starts With Us. Further complicating matters is the fact that Baldoni developed It
00:33Ends With Us from the ground up, after acquiring rights from author Colleen Hoover five years ago
00:38via Wayfarer Studios, which he co-founded. Sources say Wayfarer has rights to the sequel
00:42It Starts With Us, which would mean Lively and Baldoni working together,
00:46even if Baldoni did not direct and his role was recast. Sony distributed It Starts With Us,
00:51and insiders tell The Hollywood Reporter that the studio also would have the right
00:54to distribute the sequel. One source notes that this rift between Lively and Baldoni
00:58dates back at least a year, with Lively not looking forward to returning to filming after
01:02production was paused during the writers' and actors' strikes in 2023. After principal
01:07photography wrapped, the film underwent a week of reshoots and competing cuts of the movie emerged,
01:11including one preferred by Lively, which, according to sources, is the cut that is in theaters.
01:16Baldoni has said there are no formal plans for a sequel,
01:19though he did say on the press tour that he believed Lively was ready to direct it.
01:23For much more on this story and all the latest news, head to THR.com.
01:27This is The Hollywood Reporter News.