As It ends with us Even as the film heads toward a strong opening weekend at the box office, it’s receiving unexpected – and likely unwanted – attention on social media. TikTok has been flooded with speculation about a falling out between star producer Blake Lively and her co-star Justin Baldoni, who also directed the adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s popular book.

Not since Don’t worry, darling (remember Spit-Gate?), or maybe Madame WebSocial media users have become so focused on analyzing a film’s press appearances as if they were the Zapruder film.

Sources tell The Hollywood Reporter that there was a rift among the filmmakers during the post-production process, resulting in two different cuts of the film.

The It ends with us The TikTok investigation was based on Baldoni’s conspicuous absence from joint press events, the lack of group photos of Lively and Baldoni at the New York premiere on Tuesday, and the fact that neither Lively nor Hoover or the rest of the cast follow Baldoni on Instagram (though he follows them). This caused a stir because Hoover and Baldoni appeared together on each other’s Instagrams multiple times during the film’s development.

Social media users also began speculating that Lively had brought in her husband, Ryan Reynolds, to take creative control of the film. This theory was fueled when Lively revealed at the film’s world premiere that Reynolds had written a key rooftop scene early in the film. “We help each other. He works on everything I do. I work on everything he does. So his victories and his celebrations are mine and mine are his,” she said. The film has a screenplay by Christy Hall.

Reynolds wrote much of the dialogue for the scene, several insiders report. THRbut not the whole scene. In addition, he would not have had time to concentrate on his wife’s film, as he and director Shawn Levy were working around the clock on Deadpool and Wolverine from the time they were able to resume production following the SAG-AFTRA strike in early November 2023 – and through the arduous post-production process before embarking on a worldwide promotional tour.

However, Lively had a strong say in the creative direction of the film, as she not only starred in the film but was also a producer on the film. This also seemed to extend to her having the power to make her own version of the film. According to multiple sources, Lively hired editor Shane Reid, who was an editor at Deadpool and Wolverineand who edited the Lively-directed music video for Taylor Swift’s “I Bet You Think About Me.” It’s unclear if that cut was ultimately used in the final product, which was credited to editors Oona Flaherty and Robb Sullivan. An insider downplayed any friction, noting that it’s not unusual for a film to have multiple edits during post-production, adding that the team was in agreement on the final cut.

Representatives for Lively and Baldoni did not respond to requests for comment.

The filmmaker has acknowledged Lively’s creative input in interviews (though he stopped short of discussing competing cuts of the film). He has also said that, because the film is told from a woman’s perspective and focuses on the sensitive subject of domestic violence, he sometimes took a back seat and let the women on set take the lead.

As for the future, Hoover has published a sequel, the 2022 novel It starts with us. Baldoni hasn’t commented on whether he’ll direct another film in the series, but his character is a key player in the sequel. It’s unclear if the studio can get the band back together for another round.

At the end of the chatter about It ends with us could possibly disappear as soon as the movie starts. Unlike Don’t worry, darling And Madame Webis expected to be a financial success, bringing in $23 million or more this weekend — a solid number for a film with a $25 million budget. And if pre-sales are any indication, it could be significantly more.

—Aaron Couch contributed to this story.