Originally published in 2016, It Ends With Us now has over 200,000 reviews and a five-star rating on Amazon. Written by bestselling author Coleen Hoover, the book won Goodreads Choice Awards for Best Romance Novel and gained immense popularity on TikTok. While all of Hoover’s books are popular with female readers, It Ends With Us is easily the most raved about on social media. With this being said, fans were thrilled to hear that there would be a film adaptation of It Ends With Us directed by Justin Baldoni. Known for his role as Rafael Solano in the Netflix series Jane the Virgin, Baldoni revealed his excitement to work alongside Hoover to produce the film. Fans began to speculate the possibility of Baldoni being cast as Ryle Kincaid, one of the main characters in the book, which was confirmed on Jan. 26. Alongside Baldoni, Blake Lively will star as the main character, Lily Bloom.
Lively gained popularity among young women in her role as Serena in Gossip Girl. While the actress has starred in a plethora of popular television series and films, fans disagree with her ability to assume the role of Lily Bloom. The backlash stems from the significant gap between Lively’s age (35) and Lily, who is 23 in the book. Fans began to question whether or not the producers could have cast someone more age appropriate. People believe that she was chosen because of her reputation, not keeping the book in mind. The book does switch between Lily as a teenager and a college grad, so there is a chance the producers will cast two people for the role. Those who read Verity, another popular romance by Hoover, believe that Lively would be better suited to play a character in that book.
While the age gap has many fans angry, Hoover received criticism for the book long before Lively even accepted the role. Critics argue that Hoover glorifies domestic violence in the book. Her depiction of it also left many readers disappointed. The author even planned a coloring book based on the novel which received an intense amount of hate from readers. She later apologized for the “tone-deaf” idea and canceled the project immediately. Some fans of Lively are looking forward to the movie, while others are ultimately confused why Lively would take on a role based on a book that has created so much controversy.
The movie has yet to begin filming and producers do not have a release date for the multitude of anticipating fans. The remainder of the cast has yet to be confirmed, but fans have set high expectations for those that will take on the remaining roles. Although Hoover’s collection remains a controversial topic, fans across all social media platforms continue to support her writing and Lively’s casting for the role. The BookTok community has finally received its long-awaited film and Hoover fans across the world will continue to talk about the casting decisions.
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