Production officially began for the movie translation of Colleen Hoover's widely popular novel, It Ends With Us, and they're filming in Hoboken, New Jersey. Fans are getting hints that it might not be exactly like the book and videos reveal significant changes from the pages readers loved.
Blake Lively was recently announced to play "Lily" and Justin Baldoni, who is also the director and producer, as "Ryle." Locals spotted them outside of a store that is named "Maya & Maxim" for the film, but is really the Field Colony art gallery, as reported by the Hoboken Girl.
One TikToker, Victoria Alario (@victoria.alario), lives in Hoboken and said she watched the cast and crew record a scene.
"The tea that I got, which I would consider to be from a pretty credible source considering it was somebody working on set is that they are not going to be the ages that they were in the book," she said.
"I even said something like 'it's really interesting to see them casting a woman in her mid-30s playing a girl in her young 20s and dressing her like a teenager...and the person working there said, 'well, two things, the outfits are not meant to be modern-day...the other thing is that Blake is not playing a 22-year-old girl. She's playing pretty much her own age and she's going to be in her early 30s.'"
Alario mentioned to the staff that Lily's age was pretty significant to her character, but the crew member apparently told her that given Lily's family's past traumas in the novel, they believe it still would work.
With these massive character changes, it's safe to say book lovers aren't too happy about it.
"Is it too late to scrap the whole thing and start over?"
"I feel like Colleen just wanted Blake so badly that she was willing to compromise everything for it."
"I can’t. Her being 22, Atlas being 25-ish, and Ryle being 30 is the entire plot. If a man had not had a real relationship at 40 🚩."
Blake Lively walking on set.@carolinediamand | Instagram
ABC News also caught a glimpse of some of the wardrobe choices they are dressing "Lily" as. The publication obtained photos of her in a brown halter strap dress and bright pink shirt.
Some "BookTok" fans think the outfit choices wouldn't work in any "decade."
Bystanders mainly caught the cast outside of the art gallery doing different takes and showing Blake in different outfits. There is speculation that this shop will eventually be the location "Lily" purchased to become her flower shop, which is the main location of the book.
Colleen Hoover announced the casting of her two main characters on an Instagram post back in January, calling Lively her "dream Lily." She said she also immediately wanted Baldoni to be her "Ryle."
