Blake Lively, Justin Baldoni Trial Date Set in ‘It Ends With Us’ Legal Battle
After weeks of legal drama, Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni have a trial date. Lively and her It Ends With Us co-star and director will head to court in 2026 (more on that ahead). Both filed lawsuits against each other following the 2024 release of the film based on Colleen Hoover’s best-selling novel.
The Blake Lively, Justin Baldoni trial date is set for March 2026
Lively and Baldoni have just over a year until they face off in court. According to The Hollywood Reporter, U.S. District Judge Lewis Liman revealed in a legal order filed on Jan. 27, 2025, that the trial will begin on March 9, 2026. The filing also revealed the court’s plan to consolidate Baldoni and Lively’s separate lawsuits.
Lively and Baldoni are suing each other in federal court in New York. The Gossip Girl alum, 37, filed a $250 million lawsuit against the IEWU director, as well as his production company Wayfarer Studios, and others, of sexual harassment and an alleged smear campaign.
Baldoni then filed a $400 million countersuit against Lively and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, alleging extortion and defamation.
The ‘It Ends With Us’ stars also have a pre-trial hearing in February 2025
Although their trial won’t officially start until March 2026, Lively and Baldoni’s respective legal teams will be in court soon. Judge Liman moved up a pretrial hearing from Feb. 11, 2025, to Feb. 3, 2025, shortly after Lively and Reynolds’ lawyers sent a second letter requesting a gag order on Baldoni’s lead attorney, Bryan Freedman, due to speaking out in the media and allegedly biasing potential jurors.
Baldoni’s legal team previously released raw footage of an IEWU rooftop scene and, more recently, a voice memo the director sent the actor-producer.
