It Ends With Us author addresses Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni casting controversy

Colleen Hoover is aware of the casting controversy surrounding the movie adaptation of her 2016 romance novel, It Ends With Us.

In conversation with Jenna Bush Hager at Book Bonanza, her annual book festival in Texas, Hoover responded to the age discrepancies between stars Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni and their characters, Lily and Ryle. Hoover said that the forthcoming adaptation provided an opportunity to remedy the ages she believes they should have been in the source material. (Lively is 35, whereas Lily is 23, and Baldoni is 39, whereas Ryle is 30.)

"Back when I wrote It Ends With Us, the new adult [genre] was very popular," Hoover said, per Today. "You were writing college-age characters. That's what I was contracted to do. I made Lily very young. I didn't know that neurosurgeons went to school for 50 years. There's not a 20-something neurosurgeon. As I started making this movie, I'm like, we need to age them [up], because I messed up. So that's my fault."

The story follows Lily, a florist who grew up with an abusive father. When she moves to a new city, she falls in love with the abusive neurosurgeon Ryle, continuing the cycle she witnessed as a child. Her childhood love Atlas (played by Brandon Sklenar) later reappears in her life, challenging her relationship with Ryle.

Hoover said she was "extremely happy with the casting" of Lively and Baldoni, noting that she didn't initially believe it when Baldoni, who is also directing and producing the movie, told her Lively said yes.

"I was like, 'Yeah, okay, that'd be great,'" she recalled, sharing that she has been "obsessed" with Lively since Gossip Girl. "I think [Baldoni] expected [me] to just scream into the phone. But he doesn't realize... I have not allowed myself to get truly excited because I'm like, something could happen. It's not done filming. Anything could go wrong."

The movie adaptation will also star Jenny Slate as Ryle's sister Allyssa and Hasan Minhaj as Allyssa's husband, Marshall. Lively will also executive produce alongside Hoover, Baldoni, Steve Sarowitz, and Andrew Calof.

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