For a career that was pretty much on a collapsed hiatus for nearly half a decade (although critics would argue it to be longer than that), Blake Lively has finally found her success and fame back again with It Ends with Us. Besides the controversy surrounding her because of her involvement with it, the film is pretty much a sleeper hit with substantial profits still in counting.
And yet, it seems like the 37-year-old actress will be letting this golden opportunity of a cash cow just run away as it is. This is because, while this first installment of the book-based movie turned out to be a blockbuster, the chances of a sequel materializing are critically low. If anything, even the film’s more than 9x profit just may not be able to save the sequel from drowning.
Blake Lively’s It Ends with Us May Not Get a Sequel
Written by Collen Hoover, the It Ends with Us series is basically divided into 2 books, with It Starts with Us being the second book following the titular one. And considering the raving success of both the initial book as well as the recently released movie based on it, fans are inevitably hoping and seeking to see a sequel soon as well.
However, the chances for the same seem unlikely, even though a sequel would perfectly continue the story set up for Lily and Atlas through the first installment. According to reports from Variety, the ones posing a hindrance to the same are none other than the film’s director (and actor) Justin Baldoni and lead actress Lively themselves.
This comes after the alleged apparent feud between the duo which seems to be riddled with some serious tabloid fodder about off-screen drama reporting that the Lily Bloom and Ryle Kincaid portrayers clashed on the sets of the film. And thanks to them reportedly not being on the best of terms with each other, the sequel just may end up severely suffering.
Adding to this is an insider source familiar with the situation claiming that the chances of a project based on It Starts with Us materializing are pretty much close to none due to the same.
The source confessed to Variety:
This is uncharted territory, and nobody has any idea of what a sequel could look like. There’s probably no world where these two will work together again.
What’s worth noting here is that this first film has actually been a smash hit sleeper success at the global box offices. According to the numbers listed by Box Office Mojo, the movie has currently rolled out a whopping $243 million on its budget of $25 million. Plus, since it’s still playing, Variety reports the ticket sales are projected to reach at least $285 million to $300 million.
All of this being said, it would truly be a great loss to not only Blake Lively but all the leads involved in this project if a sequel — which usually gets announced and makes headlines with a box-office reception as positive as this one — doesn’t manage to get materialized. Even more so if the real reasons behind this are indeed Baldoni and Lively’s personal clashes.
Fans React to Insider’s Claims on an It Ends with Us Sequel
Of course, the fans who read the books and have been utterly smitten with them were really looking forward to a sequel getting greenlit as well. However, these insider reports are more than enough to crush all of the fans’ hopes for the same.
Nonetheless, some other fans seem to have some of the most interesting reactions to this news. While some are pulling out sarcastic solutions to how the second film could still happen, others are simply siding with the insider to say the likeliness of the same happening is pretty much zero.
All in all, taking to X, here’s a sneak peek into fans’ reactions to the same:
While the Baldoni-Lively feud is still alleged and yet to be confirmed by both stars, the public tension surrounding it is still high. At the same time, there’s a possibility that, just like the Sex and the City 2 co-stars Sarah Jessica Parker and Kim Cattrall set their differences aside for business, these two could focus more on the profit and agree to a sequel as well. Who knows?
It Ends with Us is out in theaters now.
