Has the It Ends With Us franchise come to an end after just the first film?! It seems likely with the cast in a full-on standoff!
Before the Colleen Hoover book adaptation hit theaters earlier this month, rumors of a beef between Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni spread online as she refused to do any promo or speak about her co-star (who was also the film’s director). It was quickly clear that he was also getting shut out by the rest of the cast.
We still don’t 100% know what went down on that set, but most sources have agreed this feud has something to do with creative differences. There are also allegations that the Gossip Girl alum was rude and overbearing (as evidenced by resurfaced interview clips), and claims that the Jane the Virgin star was “borderline abusive,” making the set an uncomfortable place to be, especially for the leading lady.
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So far, Brandon Sklenar is the only one who has directly addressed the controversy. Without clarifying the feud rumors, he stood up for Blake online this week, bashing the way the actress and other women on set have been “vilified.” Nevertheless, it’s clear there’s a big rift among this cast — and it may be SO bad that it could stop the possibility of a sequel!
If you don’t know, It Ends With Us was followed by It Starts With Us, which chronicles Lily Bloom’s romance with Atlas (aka Blake, and Brandon) while navigating co-parenting with Justin’s character Ryle. The first film has already made more than $200 million globally, so a sequel would normally be a no-brainer. But with the Five Feet Apart director being such an integral part of the first film and at the center of this ongoing drama, it may be impossible to make the next one! Uh-oh!
DailyMail.com got the scoop on Thursday with sources claiming that the future of the franchise is in jeopardy, sharing:
“It’s hard to imagine Justin wanting to work with Blake — or vice versa — after all this bad blood. Whatever started this feud, there certainly has been no obvious rapprochement between the pair.”
If the cast can’t stand to be near the director or even acknowledge his existence during the press tour, how are they expected to interact on a film set again?? It does seem pretty impossible. But that’s not even the biggest problem!!!
You see, Justin wasn’t just an actor, producer, or director… he also owns the rights! Justin’s production company secured the film rights for the first book, and according to insiders, he already bought the rights to the second book, as well. So, he holds all the power.
Considering Blake and Colleen reportedly banded together against him in the making of IEWU, it might not be easy for them to convince Justin to hand over the rights to someone else, or let them film it without his involvement (should that be the way they want to proceed). But they can try!
FWIW, Justin has gushed about Blake during his promo, even insisting that she’d be a better fit to direct the second movie if it gets made. So, he doesn’t seem totally opposed to it. But it would be complicated!
We could see a world in which he officially hands over the reins to Ryan Reynolds‘ wife, making it so they no longer have to fight about creative decisions. They could limit their interactions on set as much as possible to make it more bearable, too. Of course, that’s assuming nothing too serious happened and that Blake and the rest of the cast would be willing to be near the actor again.
It seems more likely right now that nobody would want to work with the Man Enough podcast host. So, what then? Well, they could always recast him! That would only make all this feud speculation worse, but it would avoid uncomfortable situations on set! He’d have to be willing to walk away, though, and with everyone’s egos being so big in Hollywood, it’s hard to know if he’d react well to that idea. Guess we’ll see!
Predictions? Do YOU want to see a sequel? And if so, how do you think they should navigate it?? Tell us in the comments (below)!
[Image via Sony Pictures Entertainment/YouTube]
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