It Ends With Us has been on quite the rollercoaster ride since its release on the 2024 movie schedule. The book-to-screen adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s beloved yet controversial novel was met with its own drama during and middling reviews. However, some audiences really love it and the film did well at the box office. So, with all that being said, I would like them to turn its sequel, It Starts With Us, into a film.
It’s Hard To Forget The Viral Alleged It Ends With Us Drama
When this film came out, the speculation and discourse surrounding possible drama between Blake Lively, who played the main character Lily, and the movie’s director and Ryle actor Justin Baldoni went super viral.
People were suspicious about Baldoni not being pictured with anyone else from the cast at the premiere. There were rumors about Ryan Reynolds reportedly re-writing a key scene (which the screenwriter, Christy Hall, didn’t know about), a second cut of the film being commissioned, and so much more. It took over the internet for a few weeks, and new rumors were flying left and right.
Notably, Lively and Baldoni have not directly commented on the situation, though reports suggest that the Gossip Girl star was “pretty surprised” by the narrative. The only person to address the rumors was Brandon Sklenar, who played Atlas. Other than that, there are still a ton of questions about what happened behind the scenes, and combining that with the mixed response the film got isn’t the best look.
It Ends With Us Got Seriously Mixed Reactions From Critics And Audiences
As I wrote in my review of It Ends With Us, “for better and for worse [it’s] a faithful adaptation of the book” it’s based on. Critics also had mixed reactions to the Blake Lively movie, which is quite clearly shown by its 56% on Rotten Tomatoes’ Tomatometer.
The tone is a hard one to balance, as it’s a romance telling the story of an abusive relationship and generational trauma. On top of that, there’s also a hint of second-chance romance mixed in. All together, that makes for a tough story to pull off.
However, while critics didn’t love it, audiences did. The film has a 90% on the Popcornmeter based on over 5,000 reviews from fans. I can attest to this fan love too. When I saw It Ends With Us in theaters, I was sitting next to two women who didn’t know anything about the story. However, I mentioned that I had already seen the movie at a press screening, and we chatted a bit beforehand about what was in store. After the movie, they turned to me with tears in their eyes, noting how much they loved it.
Plus, It Ends With Us’ theatrical run was impressive as it made $350.8 million worldwide, and $148.5 domestically on a $25 million budget. So, even despite the drama, fans showed up for this film…So, as someone who has read both books and seen the box office success, I think It Starts With Us should happen.
I’d Like To See Them Make It Starts With Us
With all this being said, and considering both the good and the bad, I still think they should make It Starts With Us. The book picks up right where the first one left off – with Lily and Atlas running into each other long after she broke things off with Ryle – and it focuses on the healing process and the development of their relationship.
Overall, it’s a sweet story that shows Lily in the aftermath of her relationship with Ryle and the rekindling of her relationship with Atlas. It’s a solid follow-up to the first story, it gives us so much more of Lily and Atlas as adults, and I think it’d be a good movie too.
So far, while nothing has been greenlit, Justin Baldoni has said Blake Lively would be a good director for it, and he explained that he’d be down to work with her and Ryan Reynolds again “if they’d have me.” Plus, while the A Simple Favor actress hasn’t commented on a potential sequel, Brandon Sklenar said he’d love to play Atlas again. That is good news too, because his character plays a significantly larger role in the sequel.
Personally, I liked It Starts With Us more than the first book too, and it provided a great ending to Lily’s story.
So, here’s hoping we get to see it on screen someday, and that it can get made and released with less alleged drama surrounding it. In the meantime, you can now stream It Ends With Us with a Netflix subscription and pick up the book it’s based on and its sequel novel, It Starts With Us, wherever you get your books.