A 2024 romantic drama starring Blake Lively is leaving Netflix’s streaming platform very soon. Regardless of its divisive reception upon release, the film went on to become a commercial success. Moreover, the possibility of a sequel became uncertain following a lawsuit involving the two lead actors.
It Ends with Us leaves Netflix in June
It Ends with Us will exit Netflix on Tuesday, June 9 (via What’s on Netflix).
The film is based on Colleen Hoover’s best-selling novel of the same name. She later followed up with a sequel, It Starts with Us. Justin Baldoni stars in the film, and also directed it and co-produced it under his banner, Wayfarer Studios.
It Ends with Us centers on Lily Bloom, who is in a relationship with a highly successful neurosurgeon, Ryle Kincaid. However, their relationship begins to deteriorate when Ryle’s anger issues emerge, and he becomes abusive towards her. Things worsen when Lily stumbles on Atlas Corrigan, her ex-boyfriend. Upon learning about her abusive relationship, Atlas tries to persuade her out of it, leading to more problems in her life.
The cast features Blake Lively as Lily, Baldoni as Ryle, Brandon Sklenar as Atlas, Jenny Slate as Allysa, Hasan Minhaj as Marshall, and Kevin McKidd as Andrew.
Released on August 9, 2024, It Ends with Us met with a divisive reception. While nearly 200 critics rated it an average of 55%, the audience rated it a high 87% on Rotten Tomatoes. However, on Metacritic, both the audience and critics are of similar opinion. There, it has a critics’ score of 53 and a user score of 5.4. Meanwhile, at the box office, the film made an impressive $351.4 million globally, against a reported $25 million budget.
Previously, there were talks about adapting the second book. During the film’s premiere, Baldoni said that “there are better people” to direct the sequel. He added that he believes that Blake Lively was “ready to direct.” However, things fell apart pretty quickly after the two leading actors got involved in very public lawsuits.
For context, Lively had sued Baldoni and his production company in December 2024 for sexual harassment and defamation. In response, the filmmaker filed a countersuit for defamation and extortion. After years of legal proceedings, the two finally reached a settlement earlier this month.
Given the legal situation and the fact that Wayfarer Studios has the rights to adapt both books, the sequel may not happen.
