Blake Lively Cast in First Movie Since It Ends With Us Drama

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Spotted: Blake Lively heading back to set. 

According to TopMob News, which was confirmed by Lionsgate on August 21st, the actress who played the lead in “It Ends With Us” has officially been cast for her first acting role since her dispute with her co-star Justin Baldoni started about a year ago.

In the movie called “The Survival List“, the story revolves around Annie, played by Blake, who is a reality TV producer. Unwillingly, she’s tasked with producing a new show that features survival expert Chopper Lane as its host.

In the movie’s summary, it’s mentioned that Annie finds out Chopper is a pretender with no knowledge about survival when both are shipwrecked on a secluded island. As a result, she takes charge of ensuring their survival. Subsequently, as they learn to cooperate in this challenging situation, an unanticipated bond develops between them.

Not only has a plotline been given for the forthcoming romantic comedy, but it is also known that this film will be produced by Marc Platt, who is famously associated with “Wicked.

Furthermore, it has come to light that Blake will additionally take on the role of producer for the film, which is adapted from a screenplay penned by Tom Melia.

As an ardent admirer, I can’t contain my excitement about diving into “The Survival List,” marking Blake Lively’s highly-anticipated return to the silver screen following her legal battle with Justin. While he refuted the sexual harassment claims against him in a countersuit demanding an astonishing $400 million, which was later dismissed by a judge, this film signifies a fresh start for both parties and I can’t wait to see what they bring to the table!

Following the recent upheaval, Blake hasn’t made his first on-screen return just yet with the upcoming movie. In fact, back in May, he shared the screen with Anna Kendrick in the sequel to “A Simple Favor,” titled “Another Simple Favor.” This film was shot in Italy as early as March 2024, well before “It Ends With Us” hit theaters.

For Blake, signing onto director Paul Feig‘s second installment was a no-brainer. 

At the SXSW film festival earlier this year, Blake enthusiastically shared her affection for her character Emily Nelson in Another Simple Favor, stating that she might just adore this role more than any other character she’s portrayed before. When they invited her to reprise her role, she was thrilled with the opportunity. (paraphrased from The Hollywood Reporter)

For more on Blake and Justin’s It Ends With Us legal battle, keep reading. 

Four months following the theater release of the film adaptation based on Colleen Hoover’s book “It Ends With Us,” Blake Lively filed a complaint with the California Civil Rights Department (CRD) against her costar Justin Baldoni and his associates on December 20th, as reported by The New York Times.

In the complaint obtained by TopMob News, Baldoni, Wayfarer Studios (Wayfarer), its CEO Jamey Heath, co-founder Steve Sarowitz, Baldoni’s publicist Jennifer Abel, her company RWA Communications, crisis communications specialist Melissa Nathan, her company The Agency Group PR LLC (TAG), contractor Jed Wallace and his company Street Relations Inc. were named as defendants.

Lively claimed in her complaint that Baldoni and his Wayfarer associates “launched a complex press and digital campaign in retaliation” for expressing concerns about alleged misconduct on set, stating that she and other cast and crew members experienced invasive, unwelcome, unprofessional, and sexually inappropriate behavior by Baldoni and Heath.

The actress stated that the alleged campaign against her caused “significant harm” to her personally and professionally. The accusations listed in the complaint include sexual harassment; retaliation; failure to investigate, prevent, or remedy harassment; aiding and abetting harassment and retaliation; breach of contract; intentional infliction of emotional distress; negligence; false light invasion of privacy and interference with prospective economic advantage.

The following day, The New York Times released an article detailing a supposed counterattack smear operation that Baldoni and his allies were accused of instigating against Lively – referencing her CRD complaint. In the publication, they shared messages exchanged between Baldoni, Abel (his publicist), Nathan (crisis communications expert) and others, which were included in her complaint. The court documents related to this matter could also be accessed on The New York Times‘s website by readers.

“I hope that my legal proceedings will unveil these deceitful retaliatory strategies designed to harm those who expose misconduct,” Lively stated to the outlet, “and safeguard others who might be subjected to such treatment.

Following the release of Lively’s complaint, Bryan Freedman – lawyer for Baldoni, Wayfarer Studios, and their representatives – strongly disputed her allegations. In a statement on The New York Times website, he stated that it was regrettable for Lively and her team to make such grave and flatly untrue accusations against Baldoni, Wayfarer Studios, and their representatives. This, he suggested, was yet another desperate attempt by Lively to repair her negative image resulting from her own comments and actions during the film’s promotional campaign; public interviews and media activities that were widely viewed in real-time, unedited, enabling the internet to form its own opinions. Freedman deemed these claims completely false, excessively sensationalized, and intended to harm publicly and revive a media narrative.

Furthermore, Freedman justified Wayfarer’s decision to engage a crisis manager prior to the film’s marketing campaign. Later, he clarified that Wayfarer’s representatives neither took any proactive measures nor retaliated against the allegations, but only responded to media inquiries to ensure accurate and balanced reporting and monitored social activity. He also pointed out that the selective correspondence lacked evidence of proactive steps taken with media or otherwise; instead, it showcased internal planning and private communications, which he considered standard practice among public relations professionals.

After the publication of an article by The New York Times on December 21, talent agency William Morris Endeavor (WME) ended their association with Baldoni. Ari Emanuel, CEO of WME’s parent company Endeavor, confirmed this to the outlet. However, it was later denied that Ryan Reynolds, Lively’s husband and also a client of WME, played any role in the separation between WME and Baldoni, a claim Baldoni made in his subsequent lawsuit against The New York Times.

In response to these allegations, WME stated through The Hollywood Reporter on January 1 that Baldoni’s claim of pressure from Reynolds at the Deadpool & Wolverine premiere was false. They further clarified that Baldoni’s former representative was not present at the Deadpool & Wolverine premiere and there was never any pressure from Reynolds or Lively to drop Baldoni as a client.

After Lively’s CRD filing and an article in The New York Times, several well-known personalities expressed their support for her allegations against Baldoni. Among them was the author of ‘It Ends With Us’, Colleen Hoover. On Instagram Stories on December 21st, she wrote a heartfelt message, thanking Lively for her honesty, kindness, and patience, and expressing hope that she never changes or wilts.

Jenny Slate, who played Ryle’s sister in the series, also voiced her support for Lively in a statement to Today on December 23rd. She stated that as a castmate and friend, she stands with Lively as she takes action against those accused of damaging her reputation. Slate praised Lively as a leader, loyal friend, and emotional support system for many.

Brandon Sklenar, who was a love interest for Lively’s character Lily Bloom, shared a link to the complaint published on The New York Times’ website and wrote, “Please read this.”

Lively’s Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants costars America Ferrera, Alexis Bledel, and Amber Tamblyn also declared their solidarity with her.

Liz Plank recently shared on Instagram that she is leaving “The Man Enough Podcast,” which she co-hosted with Baldoni and Heath. In her post, she expressed gratitude to listeners for their support over the past four years and stated that her decision to leave was not related to any specific reason. She also emphasized her ongoing commitment to the values they built together and pledged to continue speaking out against injustice. Plank’s departure comes days after Lively’s complaint against Baldoni and his associates at Wayfarer.

In my role as a lifestyle expert, I’d like to share some insights about a recent development involving Mark Baldoni and his associates. As it turns out, Stephanie Jones, his former publicist, along with her agency Jonesworks LLC, have filed a lawsuit against him, Wayfarer, Abel (his current publicist), Nathan (a crisis communications specialist), and others in New York on December 24th.

According to the lawsuit, which was obtained by NBC News, Abel and Nathan allegedly conspired for months to undermine Jones and her agency in both public and private spheres. They are accused of breaching multiple contracts, inciting contractual breaches, and even stealing clients and business opportunities.

Behind Jones’s back, they coordinated with Baldoni and Wayfarer to launch a malicious media campaign against one of Baldoni’s film co-stars. This campaign served as a pretext for them to create a rift between Jones and Baldoni, and to publicly shift blame for this campaign onto Jones-a person who was entirely unaware of or involved in it.

It’s worth noting that Abel worked at Jonesworks until last summer, according to her LinkedIn profile. The lawsuit claims that Abel and Nathan are now falsely implicating Jones as their misconduct comes to light, defaming and attacking her within the industry.

Baldoni and Wayfarer, who are no longer Jonesworks clients, are accused of repudiating their contractual obligations with Jonesworks and refusing to resolve this dispute privately through arbitration.

TopMob News has reached out to the defendants for comment. This is a developing story, and we will keep you updated as more information becomes available.

As a dedicated follower, I’d rephrase it like this: I learned from a December 23rd report in Variety that lawyers representing me obtained the texts mentioned in The New York Times article through a subpoena issued to Jonesworks. Freedman, who represents Nathan, Abel, and Baldoni, as well as their associates at Wayfarer, further clarified that none of his clients were served with a subpoena regarding this issue. He also indicated his intention to take legal action against Jones for disclosing messages from Abel’s phone to my attorneys without authorization.

Baldoni, Wayfarer, Heath, Sarowitz, Nathan, TAG, Abel, RWA Communications, Wallace and Street Relations filed a $250 million lawsuit against The New York Times Dec. 31.

In the suit obtained by TopMob, The New York Times was accused of libel, false light invasion of privacy, promissory fraud and breach of implied-in-fact contract for its article about a retaliatory smear campaign the plaintiffs allegedly conducted against Lively after she voiced concerns about purported misconduct on set.

Saying the report was “false” and based on Lively’s CRD complaint, the plaintiffs denied the accusations and alleged messages cited in the article and complaint were taken out of context.

“Despite its claim to have ‘reviewed these along with other documents[,]’ the Times relied almost entirely on Lively’s unverified and self-serving narrative,” the lawsuit said, “lifting it nearly verbatim while disregarding an abundance of evidence that contradicted her claims and exposed her true motives.”

They alleged “it was Lively, not Plaintiffs, who engaged in a calculated smear campaign.” She denied this.

The New York Times said it planned to “vigorously defend against the lawsuit.”

“The role of an independent news organization is to follow the facts where they lead,” it stated to TopMob. “Our story was meticulously and responsibly reported. It was based on a review of thousands of pages of original documents, including the text messages and emails that we quote accurately and at length in the article.”

On the same day, Lively initiated a legal action against Baldoni, Wayfarer, Heath, Sarowitz, the production company It Ends With Us Movie LLC, Nathan, Nathan’s company TAG, and Abel in New York. The court documents show that she is accusing the defendants of various offenses including sexual harassment, retaliation, failure to address harassment, aiding and abetting harassment and retaliation, breach of contract, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligence infliction of emotional distress, and false light invasion of privacy.

The details of the allegations were previously outlined in the CRD complaint that Lively filed earlier in the month. Regarding the lawsuit filed against her by Baldoni and his associates against The New York Times-where she was not named as a defendant-her lawyers stated in a statement to TopMob that it does not affect the claims made in her CRD and federal complaints.

“The premise of this lawsuit, that Lively’s administrative complaint against Wayfarer and others was a strategy to avoid filing a lawsuit against Baldoni, Wayfarer, is false,” the lawyers added. “As proven by the federal complaint filed by Lively today, this is untrue.

In Baldoni and his associates’ legal battle against The New York Times, they have conveyed that their actions are not yet completed. According to the court documents, there are more wrongdoers implicated, and it’s clear that this isn’t the only lawsuit they intend to file, also mentioning a potential future lawsuit against Lively in a January 2 interview with NBC News.

The news about Baldoni and Lively didn’t end there. Here’s an example: Some social media users suggested that Reynolds, Lively’s husband, made fun of Baldoni in his movie Deadpool & Wolverine through the character Nicepool.

Reynolds hasn’t responded to these rumors publicly; however, Baldoni’s lawyer Freedman expressed his thoughts. During an interview on The Megyn Kelly Show (available on YouTube as of Jan 7), Freedman said, “In my opinion, if your wife is sexually harassed, you don’t make light of Justin Baldoni’s situation. You treat it seriously, file complaints through HR, and follow proper legal procedures. What you shouldn’t do is joke about the person.

In their statement on January 7, Lively’s legal team explained that the case against Wayfarer in the Southern District of New York revolves around substantial allegations of sexual harassment and retaliation. They clarified this is not a mere dispute or “he said/she said” situation as some might suggest, but rather an instance of unlawful, retaliatory astroturfing by Wayfarer and its associates against Lively, who was only protecting herself and others on the film set. Since Lively filed her lawsuit, there have been more attacks against her, her lawyers added.

They further emphasized that sexual harassment and retaliation are unacceptable in any workplace or industry, and warned against distractions tactics often used to downplay such misconduct allegations, like blaming the victim or suggesting they invited it. Lively’s legal team explained that these tactics serve to normalize and trivialize serious accusations, and reiterated their commitment to pursuing her claims in court. They also highlighted that media statements cannot be used as a defense against her claims.

In reply, lawyer Freedman from Baldoni’s team said to TopMob, “It’s ironic in a painful way that Blake Lively is charging Justin Baldoni with exploiting media when it was her team who initiated this malicious assault by giving the New York Times distorted documents before even submitting the complaint.” He further stated, “We will be disclosing all the evidence that reveals a pattern of intimidation and threats aimed at dominating the movie. Given her previous actions, it won’t be shocking since Blake Lively has been using others to convey those threats in order to bulldoze her way towards getting what she wanted. We have the proof and much more.

On January 16th, in New York, Baldoni, Heath, Wayfarer, publicist Abel, crisis communication specialist Nathan, and It Ends With Us Movie LLC filed a lawsuit against Blake Lively, Leslie Sloane (her publicist), Reynolds, and Sloane’s firm Vision PR.

The lawsuit accuses all defendants of civil extortion, defamation, false light invasion of privacy, breach of good faith, interfering with contracts, and causing economic harm. The plaintiffs deny Lively’s allegations of sexual harassment and a smear campaign against her, claiming instead that she seized control of It Ends With Us and tarnished the plaintiffs in the press after receiving backlash for promoting the film.

Lively contends in her filings that she promoted the movie according to Sony’s marketing plan. The plaintiffs allege that the defendants worked with The New York Times to publish a false and damaging report. The outlet defended its report.

In response to TopMob, Freedman stated, “Blake Lively was either severely misled by her team or intentionally and knowingly misrepresented the truth.

In a statement to TopMob News, Lively’s legal team described her lawsuit against Baldoni as “another example of the abuser’s playbook,” claiming that when a woman speaks up about sexual harassment and retaliation, the abuser tries to shift blame onto the victim. This tactic is known as DARVO: Deny, Attack, Reverse Victim Offender. Lively also alleged that Baldoni retaliated against her after she made accusations, claiming he was trying to change the narrative about Lively taking creative control and alienating the cast from Baldoni. Her team asserted that evidence will prove that both the cast and others had negative experiences with Baldoni and Wayfarer. Furthermore, they stated that Sony asked Lively to oversee their cut of the film, which was then distributed successfully. The lawyers also criticized Baldoni’s response to the harassment allegations, stating that he claimed Lively wanted it and it was her fault. They added that this strategy of attacking the woman will not be successful as it does not refute the evidence presented in Lively’s complaint.

Behind-the-scenes footage from the filming of “It Ends With Us” was released by Baldoni’s legal team, who stated that the actor’s actions in the video contradict Lively’s characterization of him. According to Baldoni’s lawyers, the footage depicted a romantic scene where both actors were acting professionally and respectfully within the context of the scene.

However, Lively’s legal team argues that the video supports her claims made in the lawsuit and shows Baldoni improvising without any prior discussion or consent. They told TopMob News that in the video, Lively can be seen leaning away and repeatedly asking for their characters to just talk instead of being physically close. Anyone who has experienced inappropriate behavior at work would recognize Lively’s discomfort, they added.

In simple terms, the couple wrote a letter to the judge handling their case, asking for Freedman (the lead lawyer representing Baldoni) to be subjected to a restriction that prevents him from publicly discussing the case details during the ongoing court proceedings, in order to prevent any unsuitable behavior.

In a recent turn of events, I find myself reflecting on an intriguing instance during the production of “It Ends With Us”. A seven-minute voice memo I reportedly sent to the exceptionally talented Emily Lively was made public. In this conversation, I apparently referenced the movie’s memorable rooftop scene that she had meticulously rewritten.

During a supposed meeting with the charismatic Ryan Reynolds and our mutually brilliant friend Taylor Swift, these changes were discussed. I expressed my admiration for such a creative trio, stating, “Having friends like those, aside from their undeniable talent, is something to cherish.”

In the recording, I also seem to express remorse for not initially appreciating her script as much as I should have, saying, “I fell short. A key aspect of my character is that I acknowledge and apologize when I make mistakes.

Approximately a month following Lively’s legal action against Baldoni, the court scheduled a hearing for March 9, 2026.

Baldoni’s legal team has updated their counterclaim, filed against Lively, Reynolds, Sloane, and Vision PR Inc. in the U.S. District Court on January 16, by adding The New York Times as a party involved. As reported by TopMob News, the revised document accuses Lively’s team of engaging in secret collaboration for months, spreading untruths to The New York Times.

The amended filing further alleges that the newspaper selectively used and distorted communications, removing vital context, and manipulating them to mislead readers.

Baldoni established a website detailing his legal dispute with Lively, featuring his revised complaint and a chronology of significant events. The timeline allegedly included screenshots of text conversations between Lively, Reynolds, and Baldoni.

The site went live about a month following Freedman’s announcement that they would disclose all text messages exchanged between the parties involved. In an interview with NBC News on January 2, Baldoni’s attorney expressed, “We want the truth to be exposed. We want the documents to be accessible. We want people to form their own opinions based on the evidence.

The legal team representing Lively submitted an updated complaint, stating that two additional female colleagues who worked on ‘It Ends With Us’ had expressed discomfort due to Baldoni’s on-set behavior. The original claim mentioned that these experiences were recorded and documented when they occurred back in May 2023. Notably, Baldoni admitted the complaints in writing at the time, acknowledging that it wasn’t just Lively who felt uncomfortable and had lodged complaints about his conduct.

However, the revised complaint didn’t reveal the identities of these two witnesses, as they chose to remain anonymous due to a perceived threatening environment generated by the defendants’ alleged retaliation efforts.

In response to TopMob News, Freedman countered that the complaint was filled with vague allegations and asserted that the unnamed individuals were no longer willing to corroborate Lively’s claims or come forward publicly.

Following Baldoni’s allegations against Sloane for spreading “harmful rumors” implying him to be a “predator in sexual matters,” and organizing a “defamatory campaign” allegedly under Lively’s supervision, Sloane subsequently requested to withdraw from the ongoing lawsuit.

According to TopMob News’ documents, Sloane’s lawyer claimed the allegations against Sloane were unfounded, suggesting she had been wrongfully implicated in the lawsuit as part of an attempt to divert attention from accusations leveled at Lively.

Willkie Farr & Gallagher, one of Lively’s legal team members, revealed to Variety on February 28 that Nick Shapiro, a former Deputy Chief of Staff at the CIA, has been hired as an advisor to consult on the legal communication strategy for the ongoing sexual harassment and retaliation lawsuit in the Southern District of New York.

Shapiro, who served as an employee for the CIA from 2013 to 2015 during the Obama administration, later moved on to take up roles as Visa’s vice president of global security and communications, and then headed Airbnb’s global crisis management team. After spending three years with the rental company, he established his own consulting business called 10th Avenue Consulting LLC.

TopMob News reports that The New York Times has submitted a request to be removed from a $400 million lawsuit involving Lively, Baldoni, Sloane, and Sloane’s business, as stated in the obtained documents.

In their submission, the newspaper contended that Baldoni’s team has been spinning a single-perspective narrative which has gained considerable attention, but emphasized that “The New York Times” should not be involved in this legal dispute.

Similarly, lawyers representing The New York Times pointed out that the initial $250 million lawsuit filed by Baldoni and his Wayfarer partners against The New York Times was dropped once The New York Times became part of the subsequent $400 million lawsuit, as documented in court records obtained by Deadline.

Based on The New York Times’ request for dismissal, U.S. District Judge Lewis J. Liman has temporarily halted the exchange of information or documents between parties, as stated by TopMob News’ obtained documents. This pause in discovery was granted as the judge examined The New York Times’ motion to dismiss filed on February 28th.

In a document dated March 4th, Judge Liman acknowledged that The New York Times presented “solid reasons” and demonstrated a strong likelihood of success for their motion to dismiss. He further stated that Baldoni’s team would not be unduly disadvantaged by the stay while the court considers the pending motion.

In response to TopMob News, a spokesperson from The New York Times commented on this development, writing, “We are pleased with today’s court decision, which acknowledges the significant First Amendment values at stake in this case. This ruling prevents Mr. Baldoni from imposing discovery requests on The Times in a lawsuit that should never have been brought against us.

As an ardent admirer, I couldn’t help but feel a stir when Baldoni alleged that Lively was capitalizing on her friendship with Swift to gain more creative authority over “It Ends With Us”, even going so far as to involve Swift in legal proceedings. However, Swift’s representative didn’t let this allegation slide without a response!

As a devoted fan following Taylor Swift’s career closely, I can confidently share that she hasn’t stepped foot on the set of this particular movie. She played no role in casting or creative decision-making processes, and her involvement in scoring the film was non-existent as well. Neither did she ever watch an edit nor make any comments or suggestions regarding the film.

The representative stated that Taylor Swift’s connection to the movie was merely allowing one song of hers, ‘My Tears Ricochet,’ to be used. However, they argued that the subpoena for documents is essentially exploiting Taylor Swift’s name to generate attention through sensational media reports, rather than focusing on the actual details of the case, as 19 other artists also contributed songs on a licensing basis.

Baldoni’s attorneys withdrew their request later that month, per Lively’s legal team.

The judge ruled in favor of dismissing the countersuit directed towards Lively, Reynolds, Sloane, Vision PR, and The New York Times. This decision was made as Baldoni and his lawyers were unable to provide sufficient evidence to support their claims of defamation or civil extortion.

Just like numerous others, I’ve experienced the distressing impact of a counter-lawsuit, complete with the crafted embarrassment intended to undermine us,” Lively posted on Instagram Stories following the dismissal. “Although my lawsuit was dropped, many lack the means to defend themselves.

She remarked, ‘I express my heartfelt appreciation and gratitude towards those who have supported me. Some of you are familiar to me, while others remain unknown, but rest assured, I will always cherish and champion each one of you.’

In response to TopMob News, Baldoni’s lawyer said Lively’s claim of victory was actually unfounded.

The lawyer stated that the matter at hand involves unsubstantiated claims of sexual harassment and reprisal, along with an alleged unverifiable smear campaign, a term that Ms. Lively’s own team finds appropriate because they can’t substantiate events that supposedly did not occur.

In simpler terms, after sitting for a legal hearing at her lawyers’ office in New York, actress Lively found herself in the spotlight due to rumors calling it a direct confrontation with Baldoni. However, her legal team subsequently disputed these reports, stating that there was no need for a large group of people with her to testify, as this “showdown” narrative was largely exaggerated or misrepresented.

According to Lively’s argument, it was a fact that Baldoni was present in the room, along with other defendants mentioned in the lawsuit and their lawyers.

Lively’s assertion stated that Baldoni was among the defendants named in the lawsuit, who were all present in the room alongside their legal representatives.

Or:
As Lively put it, Baldoni was one of the defendants listed in the lawsuit, and they were all together in a room with their respective lawyers.

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2025-08-22 01:18