A Simple Favor director Paul Feig is once again defending his star, Blake Lively, who is in the midst of a legal battle with her It Ends With Us director and costar Jason Baldoni.
South by Southwest (SXSW) organizers announced on Tuesday, Feb. 4 that A Simple Favor’s sequel, now titled Another Simple Favor, will have its world premiere during the festival in Austin, Texas on March 7. After that news reached Instagram, an Instagram user asked if the film was “Paul Feig’s cut or Blake’s cut?”
“It’s my cut,” Feig, 62, replied. “There is no other cut. Blake has been nothing but supportive and a dream to work with. She is the best and an amazing collaborator and I’m her biggest fan. Just wanted to clear that up.”
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The Instagram user’s question was a reference to rumors and speculation that two cuts of It Ends With Us were made, one director Baldoni, 40, oversaw and one Lively, 37, commissioned. Baldoni made the allegation in a Dec. 31 lawsuit against the New York Times over its reporting of Lively’s Dec. 20 complaint, in which she accused Baldoni and his associates of sexual harassment and a retaliatory smear campaign.
Lively formally filed a lawsuit against Baldoni and the film’s producers on December 21.
Baldoni filed a countersuit against Lively, her husband, Ryan Reynolds, their publicist Leslie Sloane and Sloane’s PR firm Vision PR, Inc for $400 million on Jan. 16. Her lawyers called that lawsuit “desperate” and “meritless.” Both cases will be heard beginning in March 2026.
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Feig has spoken out in support of Lively multiple times in the past two months as the legal drama unfolds. In late December, the filmmaker shared a link to the Times report on Lively’s Dec. 20 filing.
“I’ve now made two movies with Blake and all I can say is she’s one of the most professional, creative, collaborative, talented and kind people I’ve ever worked with,” Feig wrote on X. “She truly did not deserve any of this smear campaign against her. I think it’s awful she was put through this.”
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Last month, he also shot down rumors that Another Simple Favor was being postponed. “This is total BS. Sorry,” Feig wrote on X. “The movie is finished and coming out soon. Don’t believe anything you read on social media these days.”
Another Simple Favor reunites Lively with her other A Simple Favor costars, including Anna Kendrick and Henry Golding. The original 2018 film is the highest-grossing movie of Lively’s career and was based on Darcey Bell’s novel of the same name. In the sequel, the action moves to Capri, Italy, where a murder occurs during Emily’s (Lively) wedding.
Another Simple Favor will be available to stream on Prime Video on May 1.
