Fans of romance novels were thrilled when news broke that Colleen Hoover‘s best-selling book, It Ends With Us, is being turned into a movie. Colleen announced January 26 that Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni will star as the lead roles in the upcoming film adaption, which has yet to begin filming. It Ends With Us was published on August 2, 2016, and is “loosely inspired” by the relationship between Colleen’s parents. It tells the story of Lily, a young girl who falls in love with Ryle, before her past love shows up and complicates matters. The novel has sold over 4 million copies as of October 2022, according to USA Today.
HollywoodLife has the latest updates on the highly-anticipated It Ends With Us movie, which can’t come out soon enough. Find out about the release date, the cast, and more below.
‘It Ends With Us’ Release Date
A release date for It Ends With Us has not been announced yet. The film is currently in development with Sony Pictures and Wayfarer Studios, which star Justin Baldoni founded. It’s unclear when filming will begin.
‘It Ends With Us’ Cast & Crew
Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni’s casting were announced by Colleen in the Instagram video that can be seen below. Blake is playing Lily Bloom and Justin is playing Ryle Kincaid. Blake dyed her hair brown, to match the color of Lily’s hair, after she was cast. Justin, who is also directing the film, is best known for his role as Rafael on Jane the Virgin.
In Colleen’s video, the best-selling author gleefully told her followers, “We have a cast. And I’m going to tell you who our Ryle and Lily are.” After thanking her mom for inspiring the book, Colleen revealed, “Our Lily is going to be played by Blake Lively. Blake Lively y’all! She’s my dream Lily.” Colleen continued, “And when I met Justin Baldoni, who is directing the film, I immediately wanted him to be Ryle. I just thought he has what it takes to be that character. And the good news is he’s gonna be Ryle. So we have our Ryle and our Lily.”
“I think Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively have what it takes to bring these characters to life,” Colleen also said. “I cannot wait for you guys to see that happen. I’m so excited.” Colleen also confirmed she’s read the script for the film.
According to Deadline, Christy Hall is adapting the script for the It Ends With Us movie. The producing team includes Blake, Justin, Colleen, Christy, Alex Saks, Jamey Heath, Steve Sarowitz, and Andrew Calof. Colleen will serve as a consultant on the film.
How Close Will The Movie Be To The Book?
It Ends With Us, the movie, is expected to closely follow the plot of the romance novel. The beloved book follows Lily Bloom, a college graduate who moves to Boston and falls in love with neurosurgeon Ryle Kincaid. Lily has resentment towards her dad, who recently died, for abusing her mother, who kept the abuse a secret from Lily. Lily’s life gets even more complicated when she has a run in with her first love, Atlas Corrigan. Atlas and Lily’s connection has a big impact on her relationship with Ryle.
Colleen’s novel was “loosely inspired” by her mother’s life. In her IG video, Colleen showed her followers her childhood home and got emotional thanking her mother for what she did for their family. “I just want everyone to know how appreciate I am to my mother who got us out of a scary situation when I was little, and brought us to this house which doesn’t look like much,” she said. “But this house was full of love and joy. So thank you mom, for making that very difficult decision. This house holds nothing but wonderful memories for me because of her.”