Four years have slipped by since the last sighting of Blake Lively on the screen. In May 2023, Hoboken was alive with chatter about Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni for a rumored movie. It was speculated that the pair were filming their upcoming film, It Ends with Us, the cinematic adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s novel. The written rendition of It Ends with Us was the top-selling print book of 2022, earning its stripes on the New York Times Bestseller List for over 90 weeks. 

Just as the film adaptation was hitting its stride, a hiccup hit the production in June with the WGA strike. Nevertheless, a recent development indicated that the cameras are about to begin rolling once more.  

Blake Lively led It Ends With Us will be coming back to New Jersey 

The Hollywood strikes have loosened their grip, paving the way for the It Ends with Us crew to make a comeback next week on Tuesday, January 9th, at an undisclosed location in Jersey City. Adding a cherry on top, recent sightings of Lively, Baldoni, and Ryan Reynolds in Newport on January 5th suggest that the production has begun. Additionally, a casting notice has been released by Backstage, scouting for talented youngsters aged 8-12 to portray children at a lively Farmers Market.

Hoboken played host to the filming spectacle of It Ends with Us that started on May 4, 2023. Originally planned to wrap on May 12th, the project decided to stay on the scene in the Mile Square till June. The locals persisted in keeping a close eye on the filming, with an estimated 200 individuals at one point gathering to soak in the ambiance of the It Ends with Us stage. Despite earning its place as a literary staple, It Ends with Us book and its film adaptation have not escaped the clutches of controversy. 

Many fans believed a different Colleen Hoover book would have made a better movie instead of It Ends with Us. 

Why It Ends with Us is controversial? 

The storyline of It Ends with Us faced accusations of romanticizing abuse, particularly concerning its main characters. This became particularly problematic given Colleen Hoover’s sizable young reader base, creating a worry that impressionable readers might perceive abusive relationships as the norm. The casting challenges for the movie adaptation of It Ends with Us further fueled criticism and backlash from fans.

Colleen Hoover revealed to Today that she thinks she made the main character, Lily, too young in the books. The movie addressed this by casting Blake Lively, but it caused a stir because now the actress does not align with the character’s description in the book. With It Ends with Us grappling with two significant problems in its subject material, Hollywood might have made a more sensible decision adapting another one of Hoover’s successful novels. 

What do you think about It Ends with Us starring Blake Lively? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!