It Ends With Us’ release date has come and gone, but following the movie’s box office success, it remains a hot topic among the 2024 movies, especially for what happened behind the scenes. The latest we’ve learned about the making of the romantic drama is how Ryan Reynolds’ apparent collaboration on the script was news to the movie’s screenwriter, Christy Hall.
Before we get into what Hall recently shared about Reynolds, let’s contextualize how Ryan Reynolds was involved in the film. When speaking to E! News during the It Ends With Us premiere at the beginning of August, Blake Lively shared the secret way Ryan Reynolds was involved in the making of the movie. In her words:
The iconic rooftop scene, my husband actually wrote it. Nobody knows that but you now… We help each other. He works on everything I do; I work on everything he does. So his wins, his celebrations are mine and mine are his.
Blake Lively was memorably among the big cameos in Deadpool and Wolverine as Ladypool, too. As the actress mentioned, Reynolds’ participation in It Ends With Us was a secret up until she shared it with the outlet, but apparently it was to the movie’s own screenwriter, Christy Hall, as well.
It Ends With Us Screenwriter Didn’t Know Reynolds Was Involved
When Hall spoke to People about crafting the adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s bestselling novel, she spoke to the rooftop scene, which she had no idea that Reynolds took a second pass at. As she shared:
There were a couple of little things that I thought had been improvised. Like when he says, ‘Pretty please with a cherry on top,’ and she talks about the maraschino cherries. When I saw a cut I was like, ‘Oh, that’s cute. That must have been a cute improvised thing.’ So if I’m being told that Ryan wrote that, then great, how wonderful.
Christy Hall sounds unbothered by Ryan Reynolds placing his own stamp on the memorable It Ends With Us scene. She told the outlet it was the “trickiest” scene to tackle in the book since it’s so “perfect” in the novel. She found it “tricky” to adapt into a movie scene, particularly because its such a long moment in the book. Hall continued:
There were a few little flourishes that I did not write, but I assumed that they had been improvised on set. But, again, like I said, the moments that I felt like needed to be honored are there. So I recognize the scene and I’m proud of the scene. And if those flourishes came from Ryan, I think that’s wonderful.
Across its three weekends at the box office, It Ends With Us has earned $247 million worldwide so far, becoming one of the most successful movies of the year (currently at No. 11), and it recently became Blake Lively’s highest-grossing movie ever.
But amidst its release, rumors have swirled that there might have been some drama between Blake Lively and co-star/director Justin Baldoni while making the romantic drama since the pair didn’t do much press together. Reynolds has been named as one of the involved players, but Baldoni has only said good things about Reynolds and Lively’s collaboration, saying he’d work with them again “if they’d have me.” When Justin Baldoni was asked if he’d direct a sequel, he suggested Lively take the helm.
When it comes to the screenwriter’s comments, it sounds like she was all for Ryan Reynolds adding his two cents to the scene, especially if it elevated it. You can see if you can catch Reynolds’ voice in the rooftop scene of It Ends With Us, now playing in theaters.