From the moment the trailer of It Ends With Us surfaced, fans were left with mixed feelings, especially about the casting. Those who have grown to adore Colleen Hoover's 2016 romance novel felt that the cast seemed a bit long in the tooth for the original characters from the book. Consequently, the age-old gripe about adaptations not doing justice to the source material swept through Hoover's fanbase. 

Now, Blake Lively has swooped in to defend the high-profile movie adaptation, which has already weathered its first wave of criticism months before its release.

Blake Lively recently spoke directly to It Ends With Us book fans via ET Online this Friday. The actress reassured readers of Colleen Hoover's book not to fret over the film adaptation. “We just did our best to honor the book and honor the fans”, promised the 36-year-old. Lively guaranteed that fans would appreciate both the book and the adaptation equally once they see it. Even the author herself reinforced this promise. 

Colleen Hoover has confirmed to readers that "this adaptation has stayed so true to the book.” The author also emphasized that audiences will feel the same whether they read the book before watching the movie or vice versa. And as for casting older actors, the author also has valid reasons behind the decision.

Blake Lively Shares a Major Update About ‘It Ends With Us’ Adaptation, and Her Character for the Film

In an earlier interview, Hoover provided clarification on the casting choices and why it was necessary to adjust the ages of the book characters for the adaptation. 

Even in its original form as a book, It Ends With Us did not escape criticism. Besides being accused of romanticizing abuse, another major issue was that the characters seemed too young to be neurosurgeons. Therefore, when the topic of adaptation arose, Colleen Hoover was careful not to repeat that mistake. 

In an interview with Today, the polarizing writer admitted, “We need to age them out because I messed up”. This is why she insisted on casting actors in their late thirties instead of sticking with the book's characters, who were 23 and 30. However, given the criticism the adaptation is receiving for this decision, any further misstep could spark a storm within the book's fanbase.

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What do you think about Blake Lively’s promise? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!