It Ends With Us fans criticise Blake Lively casting due to Lily Bloom’s age
31 January 2023, 16:18
Colleen Hoover confirms It Ends With Us casting with Blake Lively
How old are Lily and Ryle in It Ends With Us? Fans have been comparing the character's ages with Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni's ages in real life.
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Shortly after it was revealed who would be playing Lily Bloom and Ryle Kincaid in the upcoming movie adaptation of Colleen Hoover's It Ends With Us, the criticism started pouring in on social media.
Yep, the best-selling novel and popular BookTok staple is set to be turned into a film. Blake Lively has been cast as Lily Bloom, and she'll be joined by Justin Baldoni, who'll be playing Ryle Kincaid and also directing the movie. (Atlas Corrigan has not been cast just yet.)
But it turns out that a lot of people aren't convinced with the casting of Blake and Justin. Not because of their talents, but because of the characters they're set to play. The main criticism? They're actually quite a bit older than Lily and Ryle, whose ages are detailed in the book.
While most (although, not all!) of the fans are thrilled that thee Blake Lively will be portraying Lily Bloom, book readers have been vocal about their concerns over Blake's age compared to the character, who is supposed to be a 23-year-old college graduate.
"Blake Lively as Lily in it ends with us? I love her but she seems too old to be playing the character, she can rock red hair though," one user wrote. Another added: "Blake Lively being cast as lily bloom in it ends with us is confusing because the character is 23 in the book and blake is 12 years older ??? like could they not have got someone age appropriate."
Others have also been critical of casting 39-year-old Justin Baldoni as Ryle, who is meant to be around 30 in the book.
In response to that criticism, fans have also now jumped to Blake's defence and have defended her being cast in the role.
One fan wrote: "Why is everyone age shaming Blake Lively? LEAVE HER ALONE!!!!"
Another added: "All this discourse about the book that Blake Lively is gonna star in the movie for is dumb bc people are saying she’s 40 and the character should be 20 but shes an actress she’ll play whatever age she needs to??? in what show or movie is the actor the actual age of the character."
How old are Lily Bloom and Ryle Kincaid in It Ends With Us?
Lily Bloom is meant to be around 23 years old at the start of It Ends With Us. She's a recent college graduate who quits her job in a top marketing firm and opens a flower shop with the inheritance she receives following her father's death. For reference, Blake Lively is 35, making her 12 years older than her character.
Ryle Kincaid is 30 years old in It Ends With Us. He's a neurosurgeon and 7 years older than Lily. Justin Baldoni is 39, making him 9 years older than Ryle.
Addressing the casting of Blake in the movie adaptation of her book on Instagram, Colleen Hoover said that Blake was her "dream Lily".
"Blake Lively, y'all!" Colleen said before adding, "When I first met Justin Baldoni who is directing the film for It Ends With Us, I immediately wanted him to be Ryle. I just thought that he had what it takes to play that character."
"I think that Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively have what it takes to bring these characters to life and I cannot wait for you guys to see that happen."
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