'Not What It Seems': Justin Baldoni And Blake Lively's It Ends With Us' BTS Feud Has Gone Beyond Creative Differences

According to sources, It Ends With Us stars Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively's clash has surpassed their creative differences.

By Marita Pinto

Published on Aug 13, 2024 | 10:53 AM IST | 83.2K

Image Courtesy: YouTube/ It Ends With Us

It Ends With Us, the new movie starring Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni, debuted on Friday, August 9, and has everyone in Hollywood talking about it. But the movie has also made headlines for other reasons, such as a possible falling out between Lively and Baldoni.

According to a source who spoke with PEOPLE, the problems that are festering behind the scenes of It Ends With Us go beyond the purported artistic disagreements between Blake Lively and director Justin Baldoni.

According to the source, "All is not what it seems. There is much more to this story. The principal cast and [author] Colleen Hoover will have nothing to do with him."

The film adaption, which is based on the same-titled novel by Colleen Hoover, follows Lily Bloom (Blake Lively) as she tries to live out her lifetime ambition before her turbulent relationship with Ryle Kincaid (Justin Baldoni) upends everything. Among the other cast members are Hasan Minhaj, Isabela Ferrer, Jenny Slate, Alex Neustaedter, and Brandon Sklenar.

Over the weekend, It Ends With Us brought in a healthy $50 million at the domestic box office. Before the movie came out, there were rumors of tensions behind the scenes since Baldoni handled most of the press appearances by himself and did not take group photos with the actors at the New York premiere.

An insider familiar with Baldoni shared with PEOPLE on Monday that the reported disagreements were exaggerated, reflecting a Hollywood Reporter article from August 8 that mentioned a split among the filmmakers during post-production, leading to the creation of two distinct versions of the film.

Lively, according to the source, "wants to direct the next movie, sidelining him and securing the rights from Colleen." However, a Hollywood source claims that talk of a sequel has not yet surfaced.

It Ends with Us is currently running in theaters.

ALSO READ: Jennifer Lopez Visits Ben Affleck's L A Home Before His Birthday, Amidst Reports of Marital Issues