‘It Ends With Us’ Director and Star Justin Baldoni Says ‘Better People’ Are Suited to Helm the Sequel: ‘Blake Lively’s Ready to Direct. That’s What I Think’

With $7 million in Thursday previews and an opening weekend likely north of $40 million on the way, the romance drama “It Ends With Us” is shaping up to be a box office powerhouse. That begs the question: Will the cast return for the sequel? “It Ends With Us” is based on Colleen Hoover’s 2016 bestseller of the same name. Hoover published a sequel, “It Starts With Us,” in 2022.

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“It Ends With Us” director and star Justin Baldoni spoke to Entertainment Tonight at the film’s premiere and was asked about returning to pull double duty in a potential sequel. He turned down the idea, much to the interviewer’s surprise.

“I think there are better people for that one,” Baldoni said. “I think Blake Lively’s ready to direct. That’s what I think.”

Lively stars in “It Ends With Us” as Lily Bloom, a flower shop owner in Boston who falls for neurosurgeon Ryle Kincaid. The “Gossip Girl” alum also produced the movie. Baldoni stars as Ryle, while “1923” actor Brandon Sklenar plays Lily’s teenage flame Atlas Corrigan. How Lily navigates the love triangle and overcomes Ryle’s violent aggression make up the bulk of the story. All three characters return in the sequel novel, “It Starts With Us,” although it seems like Baldoni isn’t interested in directing the movie.

Rumors have circulated in the days leading up to the release of “It Ends With Us” that a riff occurred between Baldoni and Lively during post-production over the final cut of the movie. Neither actor has addressed the rumors. Baldoni was the one to option Hoover’s novel and obtain the film rights, telling Variety : “It was sexy, and it was romantic and mysterious. By the end, I was sobbing real snot tears.”

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“I was very protective of this book,” Hoover added, noting that she rejected several offers before Baldoni’s. “But then I got an email from Justin that was really heartfelt, and I felt like he understood the book and he understood the importance of people needing to see it on-screen.”

Baldoni told Variety that “we have the option” on Hoover’s sequel novel, referring to his Wayfarer Studios production banner. He added at the time: “I haven’t even begun to think that far ahead. I’m trying to stay in the present as much as I can.”

“It Ends With Us” is now playing in theaters nationwide from Sony.

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