Justin Baldoni’s Pac-Man Movie in Peril Amid Blake Lively Legal Feud

Justin Baldoni’s career is in turmoil following the legal battle against Blake Lively as the Pac-Man movie is at stake.

Written by Ipshita Chakraborty , Entertainment Journalist

Updated on Jan 30, 2025 | 04:17 PM IST | 17K

CC: Getty Images

Justin Baldoni’s Pac-Man is among several projects in limbo as his legal battle with Blake Lively, his co-star in the movie It Ends With Us, escalates.

According to Baldoni, in August, the cult classic arcade game was adapted to distract from the tense, growing pressure over It Ends With Us. In a text to his publicist team on August 18, he proposed that declaring his role as director of Pac-Man would help them move toward the future. The project has, however, been underway at Wayfarer Studios since 2022 as per The Hollywood Reporter.

The argument between Baldoni and Lively has been going on for months, but things have escalated into a full-blown legal battle now. Baldoni has also counter-sued Lively and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, as well as The New York Times for a defamatory article.

Amid the scandal, Baldoni has reportedly already "lost three jobs and hundreds of millions of dollars."

While the future of Pac-Man remains uncertain, according to sources close to the production company, all but a small minority of its industry partners are reconsidering their association with the company. Formed by Balconi and billionaire Steve Sarowitz, Wayfarer Studios financed several projects including It Ends With Us.

On their slate are projects such as Eleanor the Great directed by Scarlett Johansson, Code 3, sports drama The Senior, a queer romance titled A Nice Indian Boy with Karan Soni and Jonathan Groff, and more.

With no new deals coming through, Wayfarer is trying to salvage its reputation, though just how much damage the legal fight has done remains to be seen. The rights holder to Pac-Man has remained silent on the status of the film.