After staking her flag in the rolling hills of BookTok, bestselling author Colleen Hoover is taking her empire to Hollywood, and she’s bringing Blake Lively with her. Her smash-hit sensation It Ends With Us has more than just a film deal; it has Lively as the star, set to play protagonist Lily in the “romance,” even if that genre label might be something of a misnomer. (We’ll get to that in a bit.) In the meantime, here’s what little we know about the movie so far.
Who’s in the cast of It Ends With Us?
Lively, of Gossip Girl infamy, will star as Lily, the film’s lead and the central figure in Hoover’s chart-topping book. It’s not yet clear whether Lively, 35, will play Lily at the age she was originally written; in the novel, she’s a recent college graduate.
Jane the Virgin alum Justin Baldoni will play Ryle, a neurosurgeon and Lily’s love interest.
1923 breakout star Brandon Skenlar will play Atlas Corrigan, lily’s high school love interest. Jenny Slate will play Allysa, Ryle’s sister.
So far, Sony Pictures has not announced any other cast members.
What’s the movie about?
Based on Hoover’s book—which helped the author outsell the actual Bible in 2022—the film will follow a Boston flower-shop owner recently out of college. At the time we meet her, Lily is struggling over the death of her abusive father. But then she meets Ryle, a handsome doctor with whom she sparks an immediate rapport. Although he’s not interested in any form of real commitment, he eventually agrees to something like a relationship between the two of them. Initially, their love affair is electric, but it’s not long before his arrogance gives way to violence.
It Ends with Us
It Ends with Us
Credit: Atria Books
As such, the story is tricky to classify as a “romance,” even if millions of fans, a.k.a CoHorts, find it profound. A tale consumed with the thorny dynamics of love and abuse, It Ends With Us has also earned its fair share of criticism for, intentionally or not, glorifying domestic abuse—or at least irresponsibly framing it. (A coloring book version of It Ends With Us, for instance, was recently pulled after serious backlash.)
When does It Ends With Us come out?
The movie’s currently in development, so it could be a good while before Lively’s starring role hits screens. But given the fan fervor around the book, we can bet production will be on as much of a fast-track as possible.
Can I get a sneak peek?
Right now, all we have to go off of are paparazzi shots from set as production carries on. Lively was spotted in character (complete with red curls) for the first time on May 15, shooting in Jersey City. Here she is pictured in a brown dress between takes, which she wore under a pink T-shirt and fucshia coat.
Blake Lively films It Ends with Us on May 15.
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Days later, she was spotted in New York in a more boho-chic outfit, sporting a crop top with berry-hued pants, a patchwork jackets, boots, and a beanie.
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This story will be updated.
Culture Writer
Lauren Puckett-Pope is a staff culture writer at ELLE, where she primarily covers film, television and books. She was previously an associate editor at ELLE.