Disclaimer: This article contains Deadpool & Wolverine spoilers...
Blake Lively has been front and centre in 2024, particularly following the controversial release of It Ends With Us.
The Colleen Hoover adaptation was widely criticised for the lack of conversation around domestic abuse. And with reports of a rumoured rift over creative direction between producer Lively and director Justin Baldoni, Lively received a wave of negative attention.
However, it was her involvement on husband Ryan Reynolds' 2024 blockbuster, Deadpool & Wolverine, that made headlines this week.
The 37-year-old made a cameo in the popular Marvel film, playing a voice role as 'Lady Deadpool', but according to creators, she had an even bigger impact behind the cameras.
In fact, in a recent interview, Deadpool & Wolverine director Shawn Levy revealed that Lively influenced the film's ending, with her feedback prompting them to reshoot.
The final cut sees Paradox [Matthew MacFadyen] deliver an evil speech, after Deadpool and Wolverine destroy the time ripper, with it left unknown whether the duo has survived. But according to Levy, this ambiguity was all down to a note from Lively, with the original shoot leaving no room for suspense.
"Credit where credit is due. It used to be that there was no suspense, that the power room blew up, and our heroes had survived," Levy explained in an interview with Games Radar. "It was Blake Lively who said to us, 'You know, I’ve been with you this whole movie. I want to sit in the fear that they’re lost. Let me be in that place of suspense so the triumph of their survival is more emotional and visceral.'
"It really opened up a new way of thinking about this part of the movie and it’s why we did this reshoot," he continued. "And, here, the payoff is so much more satisfying."
Lively and Reynolds have both spoken in the past about working on each other's projects, with Reynolds known to have helped write some scenes in It Ends With Us.
"We help each other," Lively explained to E! News earlier this year. "He works on everything I do. I work on everything he does. So his wins, his celebrations are mine, and mine are his."
Well, that's that.
