Colleen Hoover’s best-selling novel It Ends with Us is one of the latest book-to-screen adaptations this year. Despite word of an alleged feud between star/executive producer Blake Lively and star/director Justin Baldoni, the movie is a strong adaptation that fans seem to be loving. Given its success and the fact that a sequel novel already exists, fans are wondering if It Stars with Us will also get the big screen treatment.
There’s a strong case for why the sequel should be made – the principal argument being the existence of the source material – so the hired writer wouldn’t have to start from scratch. It Ends with Us is also performing well at the box office, having brought in $135 million domestically as of September 2 against a reported $25 million budget (per Variety). Perhaps the most important factor, though, is the fact that many fans are loving the adaptation, including the handful of changes that were made.
Book fans always find something to complain about when it comes to adaptations, so winning praise is significant. It would seem then that greenlighting a sequel as soon as possible would be a no-brainer for Sony. Unfortunately, the stories of behind-the-scenes drama involving Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni have possibly put a sure-fire thing into murky waters – so much so that Entertainment Tonight has reported that no official discussions about a sequel have taken place as of yet.
While feuds aren’t unheard of in Hollywood (for example, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone had a beef for a long time), the fact that this drama went public and has dominated the press cycle pertaining to It Ends With Us definitely isn’t helping matters. There hasn't been confirmation from either party on what started the alleged disagreements, but rumors have swirled of tensions arising from the Gossip Girl star soliciting her own cut of the film and that her husband, Ryan Reynolds, even rewrote a scene without Baldoni or the screenwriter’s, Christy Hall, knowledge. All of this, plus the fact that the Jane the Virgin star hired a PR crisis manager, has led fans to point fingers at both parties and demand answers.
Given that Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni are the stars and the two big names behind the film, one can imagine it being impossible to produce the sequel without them. Based on an interview Baldoni did on the eve of the release, he would be willing to walk away from directing duties and pass that hat off to Lively. It's unclear if that would help matters, though, considering the two would still have to work together as co-stars.
As of now, whether or not It Starts with Us is going to get the big-screen treatment is a question mark. If fans really want the sequel adaptation to be made, however, it seems like the best course of action would be to continue to show support for the film by checking it out in theaters and buying it digitally/on physical media when it eventually gets released on home video.
Fortunately, Colleen Hoover’s devoted readers can look forward to seeing two of her other novels hit the big screen, as they are set to be adapted in the coming years.
