Will It Ends With Us sequel be scrapped over Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni's feud?
Los Angeles, California - The romantic drama It Ends With Us has officially been crowned one of the most successful movies of the summer, but its expected sequel may be on the brink of collapse.
Author Colleen Hoover has achieved global success with her TikTok-viral novel of the same name, so it was hardly surprising that the film adaptation would also bring in some serious cash at the box office.
But even the studios probably didn't expect just how much of a success it was!
It Ends With Us is currently on track to earn $300 million – a dizzyingly high figure for a romance flick.
Thankfully for fans, the novel already has a sequel – It Starts With Us, published in 2022.
Given the success of the first movie adaptation, a film sequel seems like a no-brainer.
But here comes the bad news: Justin Baldoni – who both directed the flick and stars as male lead Ryle – and leading lady Blake Lively are reportedly no longer be on speaking terms.
Will It Starts With Us ever hit the big screen?
Rumors have been circulating across social media for weeks that the two stars were at odds over how to market the movie.
Justin took a notably serious approach to the press tour, spotlighting its focus on domestic violence and sharing associated resources, while Blake plugged it as more of a classic rom-com.
However, behind-the-scenes issues may be the real culprit, as the pair allegedly commissioned two different final cuts of the movie – and Blake's is said to have won out.
Adding even further fuel to the fire was Blake's revelation that her husband, Ryan Reynolds, rewrote a pivotal scene for the movie – a fact that was news to Justin, according to Variety.
"This is uncharted territory, and nobody has any idea of what a sequel could look like," a source told the outlet. "There's probably no world where these two will work together again."
The situation is even more complicated considering the fact that Justin's production company, Wayfarer, owns the rights to both adaptations.
Still, Justin's character is not central to the sequel novel, and the Jane the Virgin actor has even suggested Blake for the role of director on a potential adaptation.
Cover photo: Collage: REUTERS