Belinda Lloyd
The leading cast for the movie adaption of Colleen Hoover’s bestselling novel It Ends With Us has been revealed. Though the author has confirmed the news on Instagram, the announcement has already sparked controversy with fans and observers alike.
What We Know So Far
The novel It Ends With Us soared in popularity due to the hype it received in the #BookTok community. Colleen Hoover’s romantic novel dominated bestseller lists, having been The New York Times Bestseller for 90 weeks and the number one bestseller for The Sunday Times.
“resulting in It Ends With Us selling over one million copies alone in 2019”
Viewers on #BookTok sparked a surge of recognition, resulting in It Ends With Us selling over one million copies alone in 2019. Hoover has since remained a strong cornerstone in the #BookTok community through her regular updates and interaction with fans.
Gossip Girl star, Blake Lively, and Jane The Virgin actor, Justin Baldoni, have been announced as the two leading actors to play protagonist Lily Bloom and her romantic partner, Ryle Kincaid in It Ends With Us. Justin Baldoni has also been announced as the director of the adaptation.
While some fans are pleased with the choice of actors, others have already stormed social media expressing their disappointment in casting decisions.
Blake Lively’s lengthy stunt as Serena van der Woodson in Gossip Girl means that she is no stranger to working in dramatic roles. Lively’s versatile skills as an actor, such as in The Shallows, will be put to the test in It Ends With Us. However, the actress’s role in The Age of Adaline already shows her ability to lead in a romantic drama.
Justin Baldoni, whose company Wayfarer Entertainment has been announced to produce the adaptation, has previously received recognition for his acting ability. Baldoni has previously starred in Jane the Virgin, as the titular character’s handsome principal love interest. The actor has also produced and directed Five Feet Apart, a romantic drama starring The White Lotus star Haley Lu Richardson, Riverdale’s Cole Sprouse, and Hannah Montana star Moises Arias.
The ‘It Ends With Us’ Controversies
The novel has already sparked controversy following its accusations of romanticising domestic violence and abuse. It Ends With Us contains dark elements, drawing on a toxic relationship surrounded by abuse and attempted rape. Ryle Kincaid, one of two love interests for protagonist Lily Bloom, domestically abuses her.
Hoover has acknowledged the disputes: discussing them with Glamour, she said: “I don’t expect everyone to like my books, so if someone doesn’t, it isn’t my job to deal with them.”
Though Hoover is aware of the controversy, the film adaptation has still been greenlit.
“the general public questioned who would want a ‘fun’ colouring activity based on the story of an abusive relationship”
Hoover faced further backlash when she announced that a colouring book was set to be released as a counterpart to the novel. Fans and the general public questioned who would want a ‘fun’ colouring activity based on the story of an abusive relationship. Users on social media questioned the potential triviality the colouring book poses in regards to victims of domestic abuse.
Colleen Hoover creating a coloring book for a novel that’s supposedly about DV and SA is just profiting off of the subjects DV and SA. At this point it’s about money for her and I feel like we should absolutely 100% boycott her and stop buying from her and supporting her.
— Hasti logged out (@HastiReads) January 10, 2023
Colleen Hoover has, again, acknowledged this as problematic, and decided to pull the project after listening to concerns from her fans. Posting to her Instagram story, Colleen apologised for the ‘tone-deaf’ mood the colouring book posed: “I hear you guys and I agree with you. No excuses. No finger-pointing. I have contacted the publisher to let them know I would prefer we don’t move forward with it. Thank you for the respectful discourse and accountability.”
“some fans have expressed their outrage and disappointment”
Since the casting of Lively and Baldoni, some fans have expressed their outrage and disappointment. Concerns over the cast’s ages and Lively not being a “true redhead” have dominated social media, particularly Twitter. Lily Bloom, the red-headed protagonist, is a 23-year-old graduate who opens her own florist shop. Ryle Kincaid is a rich, stubborn, and handsome 30-year-old neurosurgeon.
Fans asserted their negative opinions on the casting not because of the actors’ talents, but their ages, which are specifically detailed in the novel. The actors are around a decade older than their counterparts; While Blake Lively is 12 years older than Lily Bloom, Justin Baldoni is nine years older than the neurosurgeon.
Those who are fans of both It Ends With Us and Blake Lively have leapt to the actress’s defence, noting the rarity of actors being the same age as the characters they play.
https://twitter.com/tatiyannaluc/status/1619550101294448648?cxt=HHwWkIDUuZCP5vksAAAA
An example of an age gap between actors and fictional characters is the casting of the television series Teen Wolf. The chance of a star being a similar age to a fictional character is small. Crystal Reed, who played love interest and hunter Allison Argent in Teen Wolf, was twenty-nine when she left the show and her character was seventeen. Opposite Reed is Daniel Sharman, who was twenty-five when he played fifteen-sixteen-year-old Isaac Lahey.
Addressing fans’ concerns over casting choices, Colleen Hoover took to Instagram and disclosed that Blake Lively is her “dream Lily”. She said: “I think that Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively have what it takes to bring these characters to life and I cannot wait for you guys to see that happen.”
Fan Favourites
It Ends With Us fans definitely have their favourite actors and actresses in mind to star in the bestseller adaptation. One particular actress in mind to play Lily Bloom is Abigail Cowen. A natural redhead, Cowen found fame playing Dorcas in Chilling Adventures of Sabrina and protagonist Bloom in Fate: The Winx Saga. Fans also had their eyes on Theo James, Divergent, and The White Lotus Season 2, to play Ryle Kincaid as the character is similar to his previous roles.
https://twitter.com/hsogoldenn/status/1618927890284048384?s=12&t=mADaGUQWfo2v2LkHPqh5og
Atlas Corrigan, another love interest for Lily Bloom, has yet to be cast. Atlas, one of the dual narrators in It Ends With Us sequel It Starts With Us, is the fan favourite for Lily’s romantic partner. The Perks of Being a Wallflower star Logan Lerman is the top choice for fans to play Atlas after being crowned the ‘Internet’s Boyfriend’. Lerman was dubbed the moniker for his charisma, good looks, and mysterious persona due to his lack of online presence.
Some fans are sceptical over how good the film will be as the film Baldoni previously directed, Five Feet Apart, has a 53% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Whereas other fans are delighted with the casting following the lead actors’ previous success and praise in previous roles. Eagle-eyed fans are waiting with anticipation for more details on the film’s casting. There is no release date yet since casting has only just been announced, and production is soon expected to begin.
Feature image courtesy of Karolina Grabowska via Pexels. Image license found here. No changes have been made to this image.
Belinda June
Belinda is an English Literature graduate from Bristol and Durham. She currently works in education and aspires to work in the creative arts. In her spare time, Belinda is an avid reader, painter, and writer, working on creative fiction, while also an Entertainment Writer and Twitter Editor for Empoword.