Blake Lively’s legal drama is casting a shadow on husband Ryan Reynolds’ career.
Sources claimed projects have been canceled and companies are distancing themselves from the couple since Lively’s legal showdown with her It Ends With Us costar and director Justin Baldoni.
Amid the fallout, Reynolds has been walking a tightrope to maintain his professional connections while still staying “loyal” to his wife.
The shadow of Blake Lively’s legal drama has changed how her husband, Ryan Reynolds, is treated in the industry
Image credits: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images
Not long has passed since Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni decided to settle their legal battle over issues that stemmed from their work on It Ends With Us.
Ryan Reynolds stood by his wife throughout the highly public battle, even though it meant his own career would take a hit.
Lively, on the other hand, has had a rougher time with the toll the feud took on her career.
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Ryan “doesn’t view this as a situation where his own actions have put his career in jeopardy. Rather, he sees himself as a husband who has supported his wife through a difficult chapter,” an insider who has worked with Reynolds told the Daily Mail.
As the dust settles on the bitter legal feud, Reynolds is seemingly trying to rebuild his image. And to do this, he is leaning on his safest and most dependable asset: Deadpool.
The actor announced to the crowd at New York City’s Fanatics Fest earlier this month that he was coming back with a fourth film installment in the franchise.
Reynolds has been walking a tightrope to maintain his professional connections while still staying “loyal” to his wife
Image credits: blakelively
The film franchise kicked off with the original 2016 film, followed by a 2018 sequel, and then the 2024 installment of Deadpool & Wolverine, which has grossed nearly $3 billion across the globe.
“From his perspective and Hollywood execs, all it would take is another Deadpool film or a well-received comedy or action project for audiences to fully embrace him again,” the insider said.
Although the action hero is reportedly keeping his chin up, the source claimed he is aware it won’t be easy to bounce back.
“He knows it’s a delicate balancing act, but he believes it’s entirely possible to move forward professionally while remaining loyal to Blake,” they told the outlet.
“And despite everything that’s happened, he’s optimistic that, given enough time, both of their careers will eventually find solid footing again.”
One thing working in Reynolds’ favor is that he enjoys a certain level of power and influence in the industry, according to a Hollywood executive who spoke to the outlet.
They claimed that the Green Lantern star has “made people afraid” of him over the years because he’s “quite powerful in Hollywood – and he knows it.”
“Ryan makes people so much money, which is why his businesses don’t seem to be affected by the lawsuit,” they added.
Amid the fallout, the action hero star is leaning on his safest and most dependable asset: Deadpool
Image credits: blakelively
When the Lively-Baldoni drama reached its peak, Paramount reportedly dropped three projects linked with Reynolds’ production company, Maximum Effort.
This resulted from Paramount’s merger with Skydance in August 2025.
During the merger, the studio’s film slate was restructured. This led to the dropping of the sci-fi film Area 51, which was meant to be produced by Reynolds and directed by Colin Trevorrow.
Also dropped were a spinoff of Ferris Bueller’s Day Off and an adaptation of the children’s book Eloise, which has since been taken over by Netflix.
Lively’s career has reportedly taken more of a hit than her husabnd’s after her legal feud with Baldoni
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While there are some studios “stepping back” from being associated with Reynolds, he is still seen as a “nice guy and a great actor.”
“He’s actually really pleasant to work with. But his fee is high, and they don’t want to deal with the baggage in the press that he comes with right now because of the lawsuit,” a studio executive told the outlet.
“That’s not to say that there aren’t some people that don’t mind, but there are definitely still companies distancing themselves from him at the moment because of his wife,” they added.
Image credits: blakelively
Another insider who has worked with the Free Guy actor on different projects had similar things to say.
They admitted the Lively-Baldoni fallout had “dented” Reynolds image to some extent. But he’s “confident he’ll recover more quickly the more he focuses on his own projects and lets his work speak for itself,” they said.
Reynolds’ Instagram bio no longer mentions Aviation American Gin, which he co-owned and famously promoted in the past.
Reynolds’ Instagram bio no longer mentions Aviation American Gin
Image credits: aviationgin
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Nevertheless, his production company Maximum Effort is still being backed by big players like Warner Bros., Netflix, Disney, and Amazon. It is also believed Maximum Effort has an ongoing deal with Paramount as well.
“His production company still operates as status quo,” another source close to Maximum Effort. “It doesn’t seem like people are unwilling to work with him from a film perspective.”
Another source who has worked with Reynolds said the actor believes that with time, he will be able to separate his films, companies, and public image from his wife’s legal issues.
“In his eyes, much of the public fatigue is centered on the dispute itself and the people directly involved, while he still maintains a great deal of goodwill and respect within Hollywood,” they told the outlet.
Image credits: VancityReynolds
“While the ongoing legal battle has had some impact on him simply through association, the bigger career fallout has been on her side,” they continued.
Meanwhile, his wife Lively is having a harder time recovering from the backlash, sources said.
Playing the leading lady Lily Bloom in It Ends with Us, adapted from the Colleen Hoover novel, was meant to be her big Hollywood comeback after taking it slow to raise their four children: James, 11, Inez, 9, Betty, 6, and Olin, 3.
Reynolds is starring in the upcoming movie Mayday, slated to release in September
There have been no IMDb updates since January 2025 regarding several of her projects, such as Dark Days at the Magna Carta, The Making Of, Lady Killer, and We Used to Live Here.
She is no longer listed on the sci-fi thriller Proxy, and there’s no word on other projects she was associated with, like Seconds and the film adaptation of the book The Husband’s Secret.
“Blake Lively was attached to it, but I don’t know if she’s now detached,” Liane Moriarty, author of The Husband’s Secret, said during an appearance on The Kyle and Jackie O Show.
Her consumer brands like Betty Booze and Blake Brown have also reportedly taken a hit.
“They won’t blacklist him because he still brings in money,” one commented online
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