This summer promises a blend of romance and drama with the highly anticipated release of It Ends With Us, led by Blake Lively. Based on Colleen Hoover's best-selling novel of the same name, the film delves into themes of heartbreak, love, and abuse. While most of the details about the project remain shrouded in mystery, Sony has unveiled a fresh series of pictures, offering a glimpse into the characters' first look. The newly released images give a glimpse of Blake Lively's character, Lily, as she shares the screen with Justin Baldoni and Brandon Sklenar. In one of the photos, Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni are lost in each other's eyes. In another set of behind-the-scene pictures, Justin Baldoni is seen sitting on the director's chair. For the unversed, Justin Baldoni also serves as the director and executive producer of the film.
Adaptations often come with adjustments, and It Ends With Us is no exception. While the original book follows the story of a young florist named Lily who falls for the successful neurosurgeon Ryle Kincaid, the film sees some alterations, notably in the age of the characters. Author Colleen Hoover explained her decision to age the characters and acknowledged the discrepancies between her initial portrayal and real-world professions.
"Back when I wrote It Ends With Us, the new adult (genre) was very popular. You were writing college-age characters. That's what I was contracted to do. I made Lily very young. I didn't know that neurosurgeons went to school for 50 years. There's not a 20-something neurosurgeon. As I started making this movie, I'm like, we need to age them out, because I messed up. So that's my fault," she told Collider.
In addition to Blake Lively's portrayal of Lily and Justin Baldoni's role as Ryle, the film features Brandon Sklenar as Atlas, Jenny Slate as Lily's friend Allysa, and Hasan Minhaj as Allysa's husband. Flashbacks will play a crucial role, with Alex Neustaedter set to portray a young Atlas and Isabela Ferrer taking on the role of young Lily. Directed by Justin Baldoni and written by Christy Hall and Colleen Hoover, It Ends With Us is slated to hit theatres on August 9.
