The "It Ends With Us" saga refuses to end, and this week it took another sharp turn.
A federal judge in New York has set a trial date of March 2026 for the dueling lawsuits between Blake Lively and her co-star and director Justin Baldoni — meaning this feud will simmer through another full awards season and probably a few more red carpets.
For anyone who somehow missed the plot: Lively accused Baldoni of sexual harassment on set and of orchestrating a smear campaign against her.
Baldoni fired back with a defamation suit of his own, seeking $400 million and claiming Lively and her team tried to hijack the film.
It's the Hollywood equivalent of a Thanksgiving dinner where nobody's allowed to leave the table.
The new development isn't just a date on a calendar.
Court filings show both camps are now fighting over what evidence gets to see daylight — including text messages, production emails, and communications with the film's studio, Sony.
Lively's team wants certain settlement talks kept sealed.
Baldoni's side is pushing for more disclosure, arguing the public deserves the full picture.
Legal experts say the discovery phase, which runs through late 2025, could be the most damaging stretch for both reputations.
Meanwhile, the fashion angle is impossible to ignore.
Lively has kept her public appearances carefully calibrated — florals, armor-like tailoring, and that famous hair doing the heavy lifting — while Baldoni has gone quiet, surfacing mostly through his lawyer's statements and a podcast appearance or two.
Their red-carpet era as co-stars is long dead, replaced by dueling press strategies straight out of a legal thriller.
What makes this case genuinely unusual is how it's split Hollywood.
Some industry insiders quietly side with Lively, citing her willingness to speak publicly about on-set conduct.
Others argue Baldoni is being painted as a villain before any verdict.
The trial date guarantees this drama will collide with the 2026 awards cycle, and you can bet publicists are already drafting crisis plans.
One thing's certain: neither side appears ready to blink.
With two years until trial, expect more filings, more leaks, and more headlines — plus a whole lot of people pretending they haven't been following this the entire time. **Our take:** This one's a marathon, not a sprint, and the real winner might just be whichever side masters the court of public opinion first.
Final Thoughts
Hollywood loves a comeback story, but it loves a messy legal showdown even more.