Fans are wondering how old Lily is in It Ends With Us. The much-anticipated movie is finally here, making Blake Lively’s fans swoon over her charm as Lily Bloom. Based on the renowned novel of the same name by Colleen Hoover, the film has brought both bookworms and cinephiles together. However, there are various things that countless readers have pinpointed that are completely different in the film. The major doubt that has popped up is about the age of Blake Lively’s Lily in It Ends With Us.
So, let’s dissect the character’s age in both the book and its film adaptation.
How old is Blake Lively’s Lily in It Ends with Us compared to the novel?
The screenplay doesn’t give an accurate number for how old Blake Lively’s portrayal of Lily Bloom is in It Ends With Us.
However, the makers have stated in promotional interviews that in the movie, Lily is older than her actual age in the book. In Colleen Hoover’s book, the protagonist is a quite young woman and is 23 years old. Consequently, following the movie’s announcement, the internet was divided on whether Blake Lively was the perfect casting for this role.
Lively, who portrays the role of Lily Bloom beautifully on screen, is 36 years old in real life. This contrasts with her character’s age in the book, making the actress 13 years older than the character of Lily.
Why is Lily older in the It Ends with Us movie and book?
Lily Bloom is older in the movie because the makers wanted the character to appear as a strong and mature woman. (via Cosmopolitan)
The age change was also created to show how Lily is at an age where she is able to acquire funds and run her own flower shop. This change is also extended to the movie’s male protagonist, Ryle Kincaid, played by none other than Justin Baldoni. Since Ryle’s character is a neurosurgeon, he is much older in the film than his book counterpart, who is 30.
In an interview with TODAY, Colleen Hoover elaborated on the decision to portray the characters as older than what she wrote. She shared, “As an author, we make mistakes. There’s no 28-year-old neurosurgeons, you know? You go to school for 15 years. And so to make corrections to what I messed up in the book, we aged the characters up somewhat.”
Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni’s actual ages as well as their characters’ profession are two major factors that have led to Lily and Ryle to be much older in the movie. Hence, there may such technical differences between the book and film versions of It Ends With Us. Yet, the emotional essence remains the same.
