Colleen Hoover’s #1 New York Times bestselling book, It Ends With Us, is being made into a movie, and BookTok is very excited about it.
Released in 2016, the book remained on The New York Times Bestsellers list for 90 weeks and was the top selling book of 2022 (even outselling the Bible).
From casting details to script production and the expected release date, here’s everything BLOT knows about the It Ends With Us movie adaptation, so far.
What is It Ends With Us about?
Loosely based on Colleen’s mother’s experience of domestic abuse, It Ends With Us tells the story of how Lily falls in love with an abusive man, like her own mother did before her.
Lily Bloom moves to Boston after graduating college. There, she meets neurosurgeon Ryle Kincaid, and the pair spark a romance. Lily becomes an exception to Ryle’s “no dating rule” and the pair fall in love and eventually get married.
Ryle’s sister, Alyssa, becomes Lily’s best friend as well as employee, as Lily opens her own florists - which comes as no surprise when you know her last time.
But their intense romance is not all as it seems as early in their marriage, Ryle begins to physically abuse Lily.
Who is the director?
Justin Baldoni, who previously directed Five Feet Apart, is the director of It Ends With Us. He announced he started working on the book to screen adaptation in 2019.
Photo: James McCauley/Alamy
Who is in the cast?
Lily Bloom - Blake Lively
Gossip Girl star Blake Lively, 35, will return to the big screen to star as the lead role, Lily Bloom.
Ryle Kincaid - Justin Baldoni
Alongside directing the movie, Justin, 39, will play the role of neurosurgeon Ryle Kincaid.
In the video Colleen told fans: "I just thought that he had what it takes to play that character. The good news is he's gonna be Ryle. So we have our Ryle and our Lily."
Photo: Xavier Collin/Image Press Agency
Atlas Corrigan - Brandon Skelnar
Brandon, star of 1923, was announced as Atlas via a Tweet from Justin in April 2023.
Alyssa - Jenny Slate
Earlier this month, Colleen shared her excitement with fans on Facebook as she announced that Lily’s best friend and sister of Ryle, Alyssa, will be played by Jenny Slate.
She said: We have our Allysa! @jennyslate is one of the most talented humans, I can’t even believe she’ll be in this movie.
What is the status of production?
Filming for the movie started at the beginning of May.
July 2019 - Justin announced he had started working on the book to screen adaptation.
December 2020 - Justin confirmed via Twitter that the film is still in active development and a screenwriter had been hired to help assist with the screenplay.
September 2021 - Justin announced on TikTok that the first draft of the screenplay for It Ends With Us was complete.
July 2022 - Justin and Colleen gave 10 fans the opportunity to read the film script and provide feedback on the screen adaptation so far.
In a TikTok video about the event, Justin said: “Your feedback and support was incredible! We are one step closer to making this movie thanks to you! We are beyond excited! More to come!"
January 2023 - In an emotional Instagram video outside her childhood home, Colleen announced the actors who will play the main roles of Lily and Ryle as Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni.
Stood outside the home she lived in as a child, she explained that It Ends With Us was loosely based on her own experiences. She said: “My mum got us out of a scary situation when I was little and brought us here to this house.”
On Blake playing Lily, Colleen said: “Our Lily is going to be played by Blake Lively. Blake Lively, y'all. She's my dream Lily."
April 2023 - Justin posted a video on TikTok saying that he was enjoying his “last day with long hair” as he cut it off the next day in preparation for playing the role of Ryle.
Justin also took to Twitter to announce to fans that Lily’s first love interest, Atlas Corrigan, will be played by Brandon Skelnar.
May 2023 - Colleen took to Facebook to announce to fans that Jenny Slate will play Alyssa, Lily’s best friend and Ryle’s sister.
May 2023 - The first photos of filming emerged from the set, leaving fans disappointed that Blake Lively's outfits and styling, didn't seem to match-up with how anyone had imaged Lily would be portrayed.
Whilst her new red hair should have been what stole the show, it was her questionable outfits which were the talking point.
Blake was pictured in a fuchsia-coloured coat and light pink Carhartt T-shirt knotted on the side over her dress. And in another look, she wore a tan halter dress and brown boots.
Is there a trailer?
There is currently no trailer for the movie being produced by Wayfarer Studios and Sony Productions. Filming began at the beginning of May, so it's expected it will be a few months before any teaser clips or trailers emerge.
Keep checking back for updates as BLOT learns more about The Ends With Us movie adaptation.
In the meantime you can read about why some people think the bestselling book is problematic.
And if you liked this post read How do you get on The New York Times Best Sellers List or Toxic Tropes: Should bad boys be banned? next.
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Yasmin Wakefield
yasmin.blotmag@gmail.com
Yasmin is a third year journalism student at The University of Sheffield, specialising in feature writing. She has previously written for the Sheffield Tribune and women’s magazine Pick Me Up! She is particularly interested in how mental health issues are portrayed in fiction.
Favourite genres: Romance, Crime and Thrillers.