The legal battle between Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni has officially ended, as the two stars revealed in a joint statement last week that they’d reached a settlement. While both sides have since shared their thoughts on who truly claimed victory in that situation, Baldoni and Lively are now in a position to move forward. On that note, there have been questions regarding what the actors’ professional prospects might look like in the aftermath of such a public skirmish. Now, studio executives, casting directors and more are sharing thoughts.
A number of execs, casting officials, producers and agents recently took part in a survey that was conducted by The Hollywood Reporter. With that, they were quizzed about how likely it would be for Lively and Baldoni to find work in the aftermath of their It Ends with Us-related dispute. Ultimately, the survey yielded some mixed results, and some of the Tinseltown bigwigs (some of which remained anonymous) dished out some strong opinions. One unnamed executive made a very direct declaration:
They're in jail. Both of them…. Who wants to work with people that go this far?
Lively and Baldoni’s situation began in December 2024 with the former filing a legal complaint against Baldoni for alleged sexual harassment and for supposedly launching a smear campaign against her. Baldoni later denied the claims and, in time, both actors sued each other, reportedly putting in a lot of time and money to do so. While the skirmish is now done, some insiders have alleged that the situation has done irreparable damage to their reputations. On that note, casting director Matthew Berry said this to THR:
They’re both in for a tough time.
What should be mentioned is that the trade’s survey doesn’t see anyone deriding the talents of the two actors, and that tracks. Before they engaged in their back-and-forth, both Lively and Baldoni carved out solid lanes for themselves within the entertainment industry. Over the years, Lively has seen some box-office successes with films like The Shallows and A Simple Favor. Still, per the survey, some think she should take a break and then “be thoughtful about what part she chooses next.” One producer even made a suggestion:
If I were her, I would do a villain role and lean into the baggage.
As for Justin Baldoni, who’s directed and acted over the past several years , it’s believed that he’ll have an even harder time landing work. One person opined that with “the allegations of an unsafe set, it’s hard to imagine he could cast a movie” as a director. On that note, someone else believes Baldoni could return to regular acting on TV, where he made his name as a cast member on Jane the Virgin. Another exec also noted that Baldoni could even help himself career-wise via his Wayfarer Studios banner.
Let’s also not forget that It Ends with Us also proved to be a success at the box office. While the film opened in the shadow of Deadpool & Wolverine (which also became embroiled in the legal matter), IEWU debuted with $50 million domestically. Ultimately, the Baldoni-helmed movie ended its run with a $351 million worldwide haul against its reported $25 million production budget. Now, some may argue that the receipts could be attributed to the popularity of Colleen Hoover’s book (on which the film is based) and not the star power, but that number is still impressive nonetheless.
Ultimately, though, this survey only provides predictions regarding what may or may not lie ahead for Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni. The general public will just have to wait and see whether the two return to their screens in the near future.
