How Did Justin Baldoni's Version ofIt Ends With UsDiffer from Blake Lively's Cut That Fans Saw in Theaters?

Mar. 15, 2025

Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni in “It Ends With Us”.Photo:Sony Pictures Entertainment (2)

Sony Pictures Entertainment (2)

Creative differences betweenJustin BaldoniandBlake Livelyled to two very different versions ofIt Ends With Us, one that made it to theaters and a director’s cut that remains unreleased.

After months of rumors and speculation about drama behind the scenes of the romantic drama,Lively filed a complaint on Dec. 20 accusing Baldoniand his associates of sexual harassment and a retaliatory smear campaign.

Baldoni and his Wayfarer Studios obtained the rights to adaptIt Ends With Usin 2019. When Lively’sinvolvement in the film was reportedin January 2023, she was said to be in an executive producer capacity.

According to Baldoni’s complaint, Lively allegedly threatened to boycott promoting the film as the final cut was in limbo, prompting Sony Pictures, the distributor, to agree to test the “two competing versions” with focus groups.

Baldoni claims in his filing that his version tested “significantly higher” than Lively’s, but Lively said Colleen Hoover, the author of the source material, would side with her if hers wasn’t selected.

Lively later “made certain that Baldoni was removed from all artwork for the film (posters included) and stripped him of his ‘A Film By’ credit,” his complaint alleges.

During the promotion of the film, Lively and others expressed how she had a hand in many aspects of the movie’s final product. Manypieces of the costumes came from her own wardrobe, shepulled connections to build the soundtrack, and she said husbandRyan Reynolds contributed dialogue to one pivotal scene.

Livelytold Digital Spyshe was “proud” to earn her first producer credit forIt Ends With Us. “When you work with me, I’m very passionate, so I love getting involved. I used to be insecure about this, and now I’m proud of it…. The work I did as an actor on this film pales in comparison to the work that I did outside of the acting. It was very minimal compared to everything else,” she said.

“I felt so grateful to have that level of authorship and involvement. It makes me that much more proud of the film,” Lively added to the outlet in August.

When PEOPLEoffered the first look at ItEnds With Usin April 2024, Baldoni said in an interview, “There wasn’t a part of this production that [Lively] didn’t touch and have influence on. And everything she put her hands on and her mind to, she made better.”

In early August 2024,The Hollywood Reportercited production insiders who said two versions of the movie were at one point in the running, with one saying that isn’t uncommon for the filmmaking process. That insider claimed to the outlet that the team was in agreement on using Lively’s version.

Alleged text messages included in Baldoni’s complaint show him sharing frustration with his editors as they waited to see Lively’s version of the film. One editor wrote: “The movie we handed her was SO good that even if it’s been screwed with, the base work will still shine through.”

When it was revealed thatLively’s version would be screened to fans in June 2024 at Book Bonanza in Texas, which Baldoni did not attend, the editor texted, according to Baldoni’s complaint: “I just hope you love (or at least stomach) the cut that is going out in to the world….”

Shortly afterIt Ends With Usdebuted in theaters — it would go on to become the highest-grossing movie of Lively’s career to date — Sony Pictures Entertainment chair-CEO Tony Vinciquerra praisedLively’s “passion and commitment” and added, “We love working with Blake, and we want to do 12 more movies with her.”

How might Baldoni’s unseen director’s cut have differed from the version audiences saw? In Lively’s complaint, it’s alleged that Baldoni added and improvised scenes that weren’t in the previously approved script.

Blake Lively in “It Ends With Us”.Nicole Rivelli

Nicole Rivelli

Also in Lively’s complaint, she claims Baldoni “personally added graphic content, including a scene in which Ms. Lively was to orgasm on-camera. When Ms. Lively objected to these additions, Mr. Baldoni insisted he had added them because he was making the film ‘through the female gaze.’ " Baldoni later agreed to remove the scenes, according to her complaint.

Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni in “It Ends With Us”.Nicole Rivelli/Sony Pictures Entertainment

Nicole Rivelli/Sony Pictures Entertainment

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In a red carpet interview at the film’s New York City premiere in August, Baldoni was asked about the potential for a sequel. (He still holds the rights toIt Starts With Us, Hoover’s 2022 follow-up book.)Baldoni suggested Lively should direct that one: “I think that there are better people for that one,” he toldEntertainment Tonight. “I think Blake Lively’s ready to direct, that’s what I think.”

Lively’s lawyers have said “nothing” in Baldoni’sTimeslawsuit “changes anything” about her own complaint: “We look forward to addressing each and every one of Wayfarer’s allegations in court.” An attorney for Baldoni, meanwhile, said they “plan to release every single text messagebetween the two of them” in forthcoming legal actions: “We want people to make their determination based on receipts.”

source: people.com