It Ends With Us Author Colleen Hoover Addresses Backlash Over Blake Lively's Costumes in Film

According to Colleen Hoover, there is no such thing as bad costumes. 

The It Ends With Us author recently addressed the criticism from the upcoming film. Specifically, the criticism surrounding the costumes for Blake Lively's Lily Bloom. Some fans were less than pleased with the first images from set of Blake as Lily—which have seen the actress in looks ranging from oversized patchwork jackets to slouchy skirts and work shirts, finished off with bold red hair. As one TikTok user said of the costumes, "This feels like a prank."

However, Colleen admitted that when it comes to her characters' clothing, it's have never been much of a priority for her.

"I don't remember describing outfits at all," the 43-year-old told Today's Jenna Bush Hager on June 23. "I don't care what they have on. In my head, it's about the conversation they're having and the story. It's the same way in the movie."

If anything, Colleen says she appreciates all the talk surrounding Lily Bloom's photos because it shows that people "care."

But she also doesn't want fans to worry needlessly over on-set photos. "You've seen a couple of outfits that are completely out of context," she continued with Jenna. "I'm not worried about it."

The film adaptation of the New York Times bestseller comes seven years after the book's release. Blake will be joined onscreen by Jane the Virgin's Justin Baldoni, who in addition to directing the movie, plays Lily Bloom's boyfriend Ryle, and 1923's Brandon Skenlar rounds out the story's central love triangle as Atlas Corrigan. 

But when it comes to her expectations surrounding the movie, Colleen told Jenna she began the experience by keeping them low, describing herself as a "realist."

Trips to set, however, completely changed her outlook. 

"I got to see the footage they filmed thus far," she shared. "I'm not a crier. I know that I write emotional books but I'm not an emotional person. And I cried so much on set."

And Colleen had one main takeaway for fans: "You guys are going to be so happy. I'm extremely happy and now my expectations are up and I'm going to keep them there." 

For every book you need to read before they hit the screen, keep reading...

Based On: It's Not Summer Without You, the second book in Jenny Han's beloved young adult trilogy
Starring: Lola Tung, Christopher Briney, Gavin Casalegno, Sean Kaufman and Rain Spencer
Premieres: July 14 on Amazon Prime Video
Why We're Excited: Like Belly (Tung), we've been counting down the days 'til summer all year as we awaited our return to Cousins Beach to find out what happened between her and the Fisher brothers—our current favorite love triangle on TV!—as well as get a much-needed update on how Susannah (Rachel Blanchard) is handling her cancer battle.  

Han teased that fans should expect major differences between the 2010 book and the upcoming season. "There's always gonna be changes here and there," the showrunner told E! News in December. "So I guess you'll just have to wait and see."

Based On: Colleen Hoover's 2016 bestselling novel of the same name
Starring: Blake Lively, Justin Baldoni, Brandon Sklenar, Jenny Slate and Hasan Minhaj
Premieres: TBD
Why We're Excited: Two words: Blake Lively. Two more words: Colleen Hoover. What more do we need to say? Alright fine: Prepare for pop culture's next great love triangle as the movie is bringing to life the romance drama centering on beautiful florist Lily (Lively), neurosurgeon Ryle Kincaid (Baldoni, who is also directing) and Lily's high school love Atlas Corrigan (Sklenar). 

Based On: Casey McQuiston's 2019 novel of the same name.
Starring: Nicholas Galitzine, Taylor Zakhar Perez, Uma Thurman, Sarah Shahi, Stephen Fry and Rachel Hilson
Premieres: Aug. 11 on Amazon Prime Video
Why We're Excited: Make sure you have your A.C. on full blast before reading or watching McQuiston's steamy secret romance between Alex Claremont-Diaz (Perez), the son of the President of the United States, and Britain's Prince Henry (Galitzine). Trust us, relations between the U.S. and the British have never been hotter.

Based On: Bonnie Garmus' 2022 novel of the same name. 
Starring: Brie Larson, Lewis Pullman, Stephanie Koenig, Aja Naomi King, Thomas Mann and Beau Bridges 
Premieres: Oct. 13 on Apple TV+
Why We're Excited: In the 1950s-set series, Larson plays Elizabeth Zott, an aspiring scientist whose ambitions are put on hold in a society that insists women belong in the domestic sphere. After she finds herself pregnant, a desperate Elizabeth accepts a job as a host on a TV cooking show, which she turns into an opportunity to inspire overlooked housewives to change the status quo. This revolution really will be televised.

Based On: Patricia Cornwell's mega-popular series of the same name that has 26 books in total
Starring: Nicole Kidman and Jamie Lee Curtis
Premieres: TBD on Amazon Prime Video
Why We're Excited: If it's based on a book and Kidman stars in it, we will binge the s--t out of it. (See: Big Little Lies, Nine Perfect Strangers and The Undoing.) Add in the fact that the Oscar winner and Curtis—who bought the Kay Scarpetta book rights back in June 2021—will be playing crime-fighting sisters and it's already become our favorite new show of the year.

Based On: The Lightning Thief, the first book the beloved fantasy series written by Rick Riordan
Starring: Walker Scobell, Aryan Simhadri, Leah Sava Jeffries, Virginia Kull, Glynn Turman, Jason Mantzoukas, Megan Mullally and Timm Sharp 
Premieres: Early 2024 on Disney+ 
Why We're Excited: Confession: While we loved the film franchise that starred Logan Lerman, we do think the source material is better suited for the TV treatment and we're so happy to be re-enrolling at Camp Half-Blood for more teen deity drama. Plus, Lin-Manuel Miranda is guest-starring as Hermes and we want to be in on the streaming service where that happens. 

Based On: The non-fiction bestseller of the same name by Lisa Taddeo.
Starring: Shailene Woodley, Betty Gilpin, DeWanda Wise, Gabrielle Creevy, Blair Underwood and Sean Meehan
Premieres: TBA on Starz
Why We're Excited: One of the most relevant books of 2019, the series will explore female desire as it follows a trio of women who are on a crash course to radically overturn their lives. While Showtime initially canceled the show despite production already being completed, Starz swooped in, answering our literary battle cry.