One of Hollywood’s biggest power couples, Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds, both have major movies in theaters this month. The parents of four first met when filming Green Lantern in 2011 and haven’t acted alongside eachother since. Still, the Canadian icon has been proudly supporting his wife’s latest project, It Ends With Us, while promoting his own, Deadpool & Wolverine.
On Aug. 9, the film adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s controversial domestic abuse novel arrived in theaters. Lively plays the lead, Lily Bloom, opposite Justin Baldoni’s Ryle; he directed and executive produced the movie, meanwhile she was credited as a producer. There have been mixed reactions from audience pouring in across social media, as well as speculation brewing about tension brewing between the leads. While they have yet to formally address the gossip, here’s everything we know about the It Ends With Us cast drama:
Are Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively at Odds?
In the digital age, it’s easier than ever for people to develop parasocial relationships with celebrities; they carefully watch every move of total strangers in an effort to piece together their lives or catch them in an unbecoming scandal. That’s exactly what’s unfolding now that Baldoni’s film is out – eagle-eyed Instagram users noticed that the director isn’t followed by Lively or Hoover, though his co-star and the It Ends With Us author follow each other along with other cast members. Since the narrative of Baldoni being an outsider has spread like wildfire, more evidence has surfaced to substantiate the gossip.
Rather than appearing at group events and interviews, the Italian star has been promoting his work solo. Elsewhere, Lively’s efforts have nearly always seen her sitting down alongside at least one other cast member. The New York premiere on Aug. 6 raised eyebrows too, as Baldoni wasn’t photographed with anyone else from It Ends With Us. Traditonally group shots are captured at parties like this, but his wife, Emily was his only companion that night. Lively had her other half there for support, but cameras caught the Gossip Girl alum mingling with Brandon Sklenar and Jenny Slate at the premiere as well.
Audiences Think Actors Are Taking Distinctly Different Promotional Approaches
So far, the actors have turned a blind eye to the conversations about them online, but that’s not stopping the chatter. Instead, it’s turned up the heat as theories are traded about why Baldoni is keeping his distance. As Today points out, some think it has to do with their vastly different promotional approaches; the director is handling things more sensitively, leaving space for the range of reactions pouring in from abuse victims. Meanwhile, Lively’s more lighthearted way of navigating such a sensitive issue has left a bad taste in the mouth of some.
“Justin is promoting the movie as it is, which is about DV (domestic violence), it’s a very heavy topic, it’s what the book focuses on,” TikToker Meredith Mansfield reflected in a video that’s gone viral. In the same post, Mansfield called out the fashion-forward actress for previously suggesting people “grab [their] friends, wear [their] florals and head out to see” the film. It’s possible that the It Ends With Us cast drama is nothing more than Baldoni paying his respects to victims without wanting the point of his movie to get lost amid the glitz and glamor of Hollywood that his colleagues are falling back on. However, it’s worth considering that this isn’t the first time we’ve seen so many grabby headlines about feature films and their stars allegedly feuding at rollout time.
Could All the Drama Be a PR Stunt to Promote ‘It Ends With Us’?
Just last year, when The Color Purple remake hit theaters, Oprah Winfrey and Taraji P. Henson were in the news over an alleged rift during their press tour. There was plenty of talk about unsafe and underwhelming work conditions for actors, although both starlets denied having any bad blood. While there was buzz around the historic Black film’s star-studded cast anyway, the thought of beef between Winfrey and Henson only drew people in more, furthering the movie’s reach. As the old saying goes – there’s no such thing as bad publicity!
Another recent example is Olivia Wilde’s Don’t Worry Darling. Like Baldoni, the actress directed and starred in the film. She was dating male lead Harry Styles at the time, but reportedly found herself feuding with Florence Pugh as the psychological thriller premiered. Again, sources denied anything newsworthy happening behind the scenes, and all was eventually forgotten about. At the time, however, it was all over the news, helping Wilde and her team gross $87.6M at the box office. As of Aug. 15, It Ends With Us has surpassed that to cross $100M globally – and it’s still climbing.
Will There Be a Sequel to ‘It Ends With Us’?
While Lively hasn’t said much about collaborating with her on-screen love interest, Baldoni has praised her tirelessly to the press. “I don’t know if you know how smart and creative she really is. I think she’s best known as an actress and of course she’s a fashion icon, but she’s so much more than that. She’s dynamic, creative. She had her hands in every part of this production and everything she touched, she made better,” he said during an appearance on The Today Show. Additionally, the 40-year-old praised Reynolds for his “creative genius” and “levity.”
Perhaps the greatest compliment of all came when Baldoni chatted with Entertainment Tonight about the potential of an It Ends With Us sequel. “I think there are better people for that one. I think Blake Lively is ready to direct,” he teased. Officially, there are no plans for a follow-up to the film, though the ending was ambiguous enough that people want to see what’s next for Lily, Ryle and her first, true love, Atlas.
