It Ends with UsScreenwriter Says It 'Felt Important' to Add That Pro-Choice Line to the Movie (Exclusive)

Mar. 15, 2025

Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively in “It Ends With Us”.Photo:Nicole Rivelli

Nicole Rivelli

Note: This article contains spoilers forIt Ends With Us, in theaters now.Lily’s discovery that she’s pregnant with Ryle’s child is one of the most emotional scenes inIt Ends With Us,both inColleen Hoover’s 2016 bookandthe new movie adaptation. The storyline, though, plays out subtly differently onscreen.A visit to the hospital with Atlas (Brandon Sklenar) after Ryle (Justin Baldoni) assaults Lily (Blake Lively) leaves her rattled to her core as she learns she’s pregnant. Atlas then takes her to his house to rest and recover. While there, she expresses her fears about motherhood, and he says if she chooses to keep it, she’ll be a great mom.The comment is brief, but the film’s screenwriter Christy Hall tells PEOPLE it “felt important” to include.“I think the novel is pitch perfect, but it was also written a few years ago, so there were ways that we could very respectfully modernize it,” she says.“In the book, the way the pregnancy is talked about, it’s talked about in a way where everyone is just automatically assuming that she’s going to have it and she’s going to keep it. It’s already automatic the way that Atlas talks about it, the way that Ryle talks about it, the way that even Lily thinks about it,” Hall says.“There’s never even a question. There’s this automatic, ‘Well, this is what you’re going to do, obviously,’ " she adds.Blake Lively as Lily Bloom and Brandon Sklenar as Atlas Corrigan in “It Ends With Us”.Jojo WhildenThe screenwriter, who most recently wrote and directedDaddio, adds, “There’s a lot of different nuances to what Atlas is saying. And it just felt important to acknowledge that it should be more of a conversation than just a pressurized assumption without any choices at her fingertips whatsoever.“The storyline of Lily’s pregnancy is one that saw a few major changes onscreen compared to the novel, and Hall says it all comes down to “real estate.““This is a very dense book. I know it doesn’t seem like it is, but when you start to attempt the task of adapting it, there’s a lot of meat on the bone, in a good way,” she explains.The exact dynamic between Lily and Ryle after their fight and how Ryle discovers Lily’s pregnancy is explored less in the movie, and that’s just another thing Hall says they had to “truncate” as a means of being “really thoughtful of [runtime].“Alex Neustaedter (young Atlas) and Isabela Ferrer (young Lily) in “It Ends With Us”.Jojo Whilden/SonyLuckily, Hall’s favorite scene from the book made the cut, which isn’t surprising, given it’s the meet-cute for Lily and Ryle. “The roof scene was probably the trickiest one to tackle, in that I think the roof scene is perfect in the novel,” she says.Her first go at the scene was 10 pages. “That’s probably the scene that I spent the most time with, just really whittling down and really working with Colleen on whittling down what are the things that have to happen in the scene, and then what are the things that don’t have to happen?“Blake Lively as Lily Bloom in “It Ends With Us”.Nicole Rivelli/SONY PICTURESNever miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.At the New York City premiere of the film, Lively said her husbandRyan Reynoldscontributed dialogue to the rooftop scene, which opens the book.Hall says Reynolds' involvement is not something she was aware of.“There were a couple of little things that I thought had been improvised. Like when [Ryle] says, ‘Pretty please with a cherry on top,’ and [Lily] talks about the maraschino cherries. When I saw a cut I was like, ‘Oh, that’s cute. That must have been a cute improvised thing.’ So if I’m being told that Ryan wrote that, then great, how wonderful.“Ultimately, though, she says she’s “very proud” of her work. “The moments that I felt like needed to be honored are there. So I recognize the scene and I’m proud of the scene. And if those flourishes came from Ryan, I think that’s wonderful.“It Ends With Usis in theaters now.

Note: This article contains spoilers forIt Ends With Us, in theaters now.

Lily’s discovery that she’s pregnant with Ryle’s child is one of the most emotional scenes inIt Ends With Us,both inColleen Hoover’s 2016 bookandthe new movie adaptation. The storyline, though, plays out subtly differently onscreen.

A visit to the hospital with Atlas (Brandon Sklenar) after Ryle (Justin Baldoni) assaults Lily (Blake Lively) leaves her rattled to her core as she learns she’s pregnant. Atlas then takes her to his house to rest and recover. While there, she expresses her fears about motherhood, and he says if she chooses to keep it, she’ll be a great mom.

The comment is brief, but the film’s screenwriter Christy Hall tells PEOPLE it “felt important” to include.

“I think the novel is pitch perfect, but it was also written a few years ago, so there were ways that we could very respectfully modernize it,” she says.

“In the book, the way the pregnancy is talked about, it’s talked about in a way where everyone is just automatically assuming that she’s going to have it and she’s going to keep it. It’s already automatic the way that Atlas talks about it, the way that Ryle talks about it, the way that even Lily thinks about it,” Hall says.

“There’s never even a question. There’s this automatic, ‘Well, this is what you’re going to do, obviously,’ " she adds.

Blake Lively as Lily Bloom and Brandon Sklenar as Atlas Corrigan in “It Ends With Us”.Jojo Whilden

Jojo Whilden

The screenwriter, who most recently wrote and directedDaddio, adds, “There’s a lot of different nuances to what Atlas is saying. And it just felt important to acknowledge that it should be more of a conversation than just a pressurized assumption without any choices at her fingertips whatsoever.”

The storyline of Lily’s pregnancy is one that saw a few major changes onscreen compared to the novel, and Hall says it all comes down to “real estate.”

“This is a very dense book. I know it doesn’t seem like it is, but when you start to attempt the task of adapting it, there’s a lot of meat on the bone, in a good way,” she explains.

The exact dynamic between Lily and Ryle after their fight and how Ryle discovers Lily’s pregnancy is explored less in the movie, and that’s just another thing Hall says they had to “truncate” as a means of being “really thoughtful of [runtime].”

Alex Neustaedter (young Atlas) and Isabela Ferrer (young Lily) in “It Ends With Us”.Jojo Whilden/Sony

Jojo Whilden/Sony

Luckily, Hall’s favorite scene from the book made the cut, which isn’t surprising, given it’s the meet-cute for Lily and Ryle. “The roof scene was probably the trickiest one to tackle, in that I think the roof scene is perfect in the novel,” she says.

Her first go at the scene was 10 pages. “That’s probably the scene that I spent the most time with, just really whittling down and really working with Colleen on whittling down what are the things that have to happen in the scene, and then what are the things that don’t have to happen?”

Blake Lively as Lily Bloom in “It Ends With Us”.Nicole Rivelli/SONY PICTURES

Nicole Rivelli/SONY PICTURES

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

At the New York City premiere of the film, Lively said her husbandRyan Reynoldscontributed dialogue to the rooftop scene, which opens the book.Hall says Reynolds' involvement is not something she was aware of.

“There were a couple of little things that I thought had been improvised. Like when [Ryle] says, ‘Pretty please with a cherry on top,’ and [Lily] talks about the maraschino cherries. When I saw a cut I was like, ‘Oh, that’s cute. That must have been a cute improvised thing.’ So if I’m being told that Ryan wrote that, then great, how wonderful.”

Ultimately, though, she says she’s “very proud” of her work. “The moments that I felt like needed to be honored are there. So I recognize the scene and I’m proud of the scene. And if those flourishes came from Ryan, I think that’s wonderful.”

It Ends With Usis in theaters now.

source: people.com