Buckle up, bookworms and romance lovers: It Ends With Us is coming to the big screen. Justin Baldoni—an actor, director, and filmmaker who is best known for playing Rafael Solano on Jane the Virgin—is developing a movie based on Colleen Hoover’s wildly popular romance novel. And while there hasn’t been much news on the project’s progress since Baldoni optioned it in 2019, he recently took to TikTok to share that the first draft of the screenplay is finally complete.
Predictably, people went wild in the comments. Among the numerous expressions of excitement (“SCREAMING, CRYING, THROWING UP, SHAKING, DYING”) and requests for roles in the film (“I’ll audition to be a tree”) were comments about Baldoni himself. Fans of It Ends With Us seem to agree that he’ll treat the adaptation with the care it deserves, and some are even hoping that Baldoni will cast himself in a lead role. That hope isn’t far-fetched; in response to a commenter who suggested that he play Ryle (one of the main characters in the novel), Baldoni said that the idea was “interesting” and attached a thinking emoji. He has also previously hinted at the possibility of acting in the film on Twitter.
Originally, Baldoni planned to direct the film himself, but in 2020 he announced that a female director would be hired instead, saying that he “realized this is a much more important project for a woman to direct.” If you’ve read the book, it’s easy to see why. It’s not just that It Ends With Us is a romance and therefore attracts a primarily female audience, it’s also that the story speaks to many sensitive issues that affect women today.
Fair warning: there are very minor spoilers ahead.
The official overview for It Ends With Us makes the book seem like a run-of-the-mill romance featuring an ambitious woman and two hot love interests. At least that’s all I thought it was before I read it earlier this year. But I soon discovered that it’s anything but an ordinary romance novel. The story delves deeply into tough topics such as youth homelessness and domestic violence, putting readers in the head of a woman who is forced to make terribly difficult choices. It portrays different types of physical and emotional abuse and it shows that not all toxic relationships look the same.
It Ends With Us is, in a word, heartbreaking. But in a good way, if that makes any sense. Colleen Hoover crafts a beautiful love story that makes you think deeply about things that aren’t usually spoken about. And yes, it’ll probably make you cry. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.
Personally, I’m thrilled that Justin Baldoni is making a movie based on It Ends With Us and bringing it to a wider audience. This story deserves to be seen. No release date has been announced yet, so you’ll likely have plenty of time to read the book before the film comes out. Hopefully, Baldoni will provide more updates soon.