The ‘It Ends With Us’ Movie Finally Has a Release Date, Official Trailer and First-Look Pics

If you're a fan of Colleen Hoover’s best-selling romance novel, It Ends With Us, you've likely been counting down the days until it hits theaters. (Don’t worry, join the club.) Thankfully, per a social media post that contains first-look photos from the upcoming film, which were shared by Sony Pictures and Hoover herself on April 30, the movie adaptation of the book (directed by Justin Baldoni) is officially coming to cinemas on (drumroll, please) August 9, 2024. Though production for the upcoming film was halted due to the writers’ strike last year, fans (like myself) will meet Lily Bloom, Ryle Kincaid and the rest of the gang very, very soon. 

I couldn’t be more excited to see the über-popular novel get translated to the screen, but in the meantime, I have loads of questions. How will the plot be adapted for the film? Who will be playing all the lead roles? And most importantly: Do we have any sneak peek photos yet? (Spoiler: We do.) Here’s everything I know about the It Ends With Us film adaptation, plus a brand-new trailer.

Hoover's 2016 novel, which was inspired by her mother's real-life story, follows Lily, a college graduate who meets and falls for a charming neurosurgeon named Ryle. The two pursue a romantic relationship, but their happily-ever-after comes to a halt when Lily's ex, Atlas, comes strolling back into her life.

Christy Hall wrote the screenplay for the film, and although Hoover wasn't involved in the writing, she thinks that devoted fans of the book will be satisfied. “I think that people are going to be very pleased,” Hoover told TODAY. “I’m very pleased.”

And as far as any plot changes that occurred, Hoover felt these were necessary as well: “As an author, we make mistakes,” she added. “I love that there’s discourse surrounding it, I do.”

In the film adaptation, Blake Lively stars as Lily, Baldoni plays Ryle, Brandon Sklenar plays Atlas, Jenny Slate plays Allysa and Hasan Minhaj plays Marshall.

After the cast was announced, several fans weren't happy that the characters were aged up. (Lively, 35, is playing Lily even though she's 23 years old in the book. And Baldoni, 39, is playing 30-year-old Ryle.) However, Hoover explained that the characters should've been older to begin with.

During her appearance on TODAY, she said, “Back when I wrote It Ends With Us, the new adult (genre) was very popular. You were writing college-age characters. That's what I was contracted to do. I made Lily very young. I didn't know that neurosurgeons went to school for 50 years. There's not a 20-something neurosurgeon.”

She continued, “As I started making this movie, I'm like, we need to age them out, because I messed up. So that's my fault.”

Yes, It Ends With Us is set to hit theaters on August 9, 2024.

Due to the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes, which ended in late 2023, the release date was pushed back as a result of delays in filming. Filming on the adaptation began in May 2023, but was halted due to the writers’ strike. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the film was slightly over halfway done when the whole production went on pause.

On April 30, Sony Pictures confirmed the release date on the movie’s official Instagram page. Along with a series of first-look photos from the film, the caption said, “The book you love is the movie event of the summer. Colleen Hoover’s global best-selling phenomenon #ItEndsWithUsMovie is coming exclusively to theaters August 9.” BRB, going to mark my calendar so I don’t forget.

On May 16, Sony released the official trailer for It Ends with Us starring Lively and Baldoni. While Taylor Swift’s emotional ballad “My Tears Ricochet” (featured on her 2020 album Folklore) plays over the two-minute clip, viewers are first introduced to Lily and Ryle, who meet and fall in love. As the trailer takes viewers through their tantalizing love story, Lily can be heard saying in the background, “We all have an idea of what love can be. That special connection and feel. That first kiss. But 15 seconds. That’s all it takes to completely change everything.” 

And before the trailer comes to an end, white text flashes across the screen. Alongside a still image of Lively’s Bloom standing in a denim jumpsuit, the phrase reads, “It Ends with Us. Exclusively in movie theaters on August 9.” Excuse me while I try to contain my excitement.

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