Blake Lively Screened Her 'Preferred' Cut ofIt Ends With Usfor Fans Two Months Before Movie Opened (Report)

Mar. 15, 2025

Blake Lively at the Copenhagen premiere of ‘It Ends with Us’ on August 09, 2024.Photo:NILS MEILVANG/Ritzau Scanpix/AFP/Getty

NILS MEILVANG/Ritzau Scanpix/AFP/Getty

Blake Livelyreportedly showed fans her “preferred” cut ofIt Ends With Ustwo months before the movie opened in theaters.

At the 2024Book Bonanzafestival in Grapevine, Texas on June 14, Lively, 36, and her costarBrandon Sklenaropened the keynoteat the event alongsideIt Ends With UsauthorColleen Hoover.

The following evening, Lively and Hoover, 44, along with costars Isabela Ferrer and Sklenar, 34, attended a surprise screening at AMC Grapevine Mills showcasing an unfinished version of the film. According toThe Hollywood Reporter, the version shown at the Book Bonanza screening was Lively’s “preferred rough cut” of the movie.

PEOPLE has contacted Sony, which bought rights to release the movie, for comment.

Director Justin Baldoni, who also plays Ryle Kincaid, was absent from the keynote and screening event, and now two months down the line, there have beenreports of a riftbetween Lively and Baldoni, 40. Around the same time,Baldoni revealed he was recoveringafter being hospitalized with an infection for a week.

Upon the release of the film,reports of a riftbetween Lively and Baldoni, 40, have emerged, along with reports of Baldoni’s alleged behavior on set.

Colleen Hoover, Brandon Sklenar and Blake Lively at Book Bonanza on June 14, 2024.Eric Charbonneau/Getty

Eric Charbonneau/Getty

On Aug. 8,THRreported that there “was a fracture among the filmmakers in the post-production process, wherein two different cuts of the movie emerged.” A source close to Baldoni put the discord down to “creative differences” that had been “overblown” to PEOPLE and claimed that Lively, who was also a producer on the project, “wants to direct the next movie, sidelining him and securing the rights from Colleen.”

However, earlier this week, a sourcetold PEOPLEthat the issues brewing behind the scenes of the movie surpass alleged creative differences between the two.

“All is not what it seems,” a set source told PEOPLE. “There is much more to this story. The principal cast and [author] Colleen Hoover will have nothing to do with him [Baldoni].”

Reps for Lively and Baldoni did not respond to PEOPLE’s requests for comment at the time.

Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni in ‘It Ends with Us’.Nicole Rivelli

Nicole Rivelli

There has not yet been a discussion of a second movie, a Hollywood source told PEOPLE, while Baldoni toldVarietythat while his production company Wayfarer Studios has the option on adaptingIt Starts With Us, “I haven’t even begun to think that far ahead. I’m trying to stay in the present as much as I can.”

Rumors of a rift grew prior to the movie’s release amid Baldoni doing the majority of his press solo. The actor did not pose for pictures alongside the cast atthe film’s New York premiereon Aug. 6, while he also skipped the movie’sLondon premieretwo days later.

Fans have also been quick to point out that Lively, Hoover and actress Jenny Slate (who plays Allysa) do not follow Baldoni back on Instagram.

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Justin Baldoni at the New York premiere of ‘It Ends with Us with his wife Emily Baldoni.Cindy Ord/Getty

Cindy Ord/Getty

Speaking at the Book Bonanza event in June, Lively praised Hoover for how meticulous she was in making sure the movie stayed true to form.

“Thank goodness she doesn’t let anything fall to the ground,” Lively added.

Hoover agreed and noted at one point that, as co-executive producers, she and Lively “have to keep an eye on things. And get the details right.”

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Meanwhile, Sony has praised both Hoover and Lively for their work.

Sony Pictures Entertainment Chair-CEO Tony Vinciquerra toldTHRon Aug. 14, “Blake, Colleen and so many women put so much effort into this remarkable movie, working selflessly from the start to ensure that such an important subject matter was handled with care. Audiences love the movie.”

“Blake’s passion and commitment to advancing the conversation around domestic violence is commendable,” Vinciquerra continued. “We love working with Blake, and we want to do 12 more movies with her.”

An adaptation of Hoover’s 2016 bestselling novel,It Ends With Usstars Lively as Lily Bloom, a florist who falls in love with a neurosurgeon named Ryle Kincaid (Baldoni), and a toxic and abusive relationship forms.

It Ends With Usis in theaters now.

source: people.com