8 Movies With Serious Behind-the-Scenes Drama, fromIt Ends with UstoDon't Worry Darling

Mar. 15, 2025

Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively in ‘It Ends with Us’.Photo:Jojo Whilden/Sony

Jojo Whilden/Sony

Though the finished product may be pure movie magic, the process of making some films has been downright disenchanting.Films such asJustice League,Blade: Trinity,Don’t Worry Darlingand, most recently,It Ends with Ushave had so much on-set chaos that the twists and turns of the interpersonal drama becomes more riveting to fans than the film itself.From creative differences to costars suing each other to marital affairs, check out these eight movies that made major headlines for their behind-the-scenes drama.

Though the finished product may be pure movie magic, the process of making some films has been downright disenchanting.

Films such asJustice League,Blade: Trinity,Don’t Worry Darlingand, most recently,It Ends with Ushave had so much on-set chaos that the twists and turns of the interpersonal drama becomes more riveting to fans than the film itself.

From creative differences to costars suing each other to marital affairs, check out these eight movies that made major headlines for their behind-the-scenes drama.

01of 09

‘It Ends with Us’

It Ends With Us movie poster.Sony Pictures

Sony Pictures

Rumors of behind-the-scenes drama onIt Ends with Usfirst surfaced whenJustin Baldoni, the film’s director and one of the main actors, wasn’t present for most of the grouped promotional stops.

Buzz about a possible rift with the film’s star Blake Lively reached a fever pitch when Lively appeared topose alongside all of her main costars, including Brandon Sklenar andJenny Slate, while Baldoni walked the red carpet withhis wife Emilyand his family at the New York premiere on Aug. 6.

In December 2024,Lively sued Baldonifor sexual harassment andspearheading a smear campaign against herthat caused her to experience “grief, fear, trauma, and extreme anxiety.”

On Dec. 31, Baldonifiled his own lawsuit, suing theNew York Timesafter they reported that he and his public relations team had worked to undermine Lively’s public reputation.

And in January,he filed a $400 million suit against Lively, Ryan Reynolds, their publicist Leslie Sloane and Sloane’s PR firm Vision PR, Inc.,claiming extortion and defamation, among other things; his lawyer said, in part “This lawsuit is a legal action based on an overwhelming amount of untampered evidence detailing Blake Lively and her team’s duplicitous attempt to destroy Justin Baldoni.”

Lively’s team respondedthat the suit was “another chapter in the abuser playbook” and said it would “fail.”

Read even more about the lawsuits and all the key playershere.

02of 09

‘Don’t Worry Darling’

Don’t Worry Darling Poster.

Drama on the set ofDon’t Worry Darlingfirst started when the film’s director,Olivia WildefiredShia LaBeouffrom the production.

When news that Wilde had begun dating his replacement,Harry Styles, interest in the on-set cast dynamics escalated, with growing rumors of a rift between Wilde and Florence Pugh.

Shortly before the film premiered in Venice, LaBeouf shared a video that he said disproved Wilde’s claims that she had fired him for violating her “no ass—-” policy, in which she referred to Pugh as “Miss Flo” while appearing to talk him down from quitting the production.

Though unrelated, video of Wildebeing served custody papersduring a CinemaCon presentation in Las Vegas only made the buzz around this film that much bigger.

03of 09

‘Mr. and Mrs. Smith’

Mr. & Mrs. Smith.

The set ofMr. and Mrs. Smithgave way to one of the most controversial meet-cutes in Hollywood history.Angelina JolieandBrad Pitt’s onscreen chemistry was undeniable and apparently, it carried off-screen.

The problem, however, was that Pitt was married to Jennifer Aniston before the costars met on the set of the film in 2004.

Pitt moved on with Jolie and adopted her children Maddox and Zahara in 2006. They welcomed four more children together before marrying in 2014; Jolie filed for divorce in 2016. They finalized their divorce this past December.

04of 09

‘Fast and Furious’

The Fate of the Furious.

On paper, bringingDwayne JohnsonandVin Dieseltogether seemed like a natural progression in the franchise. They were both bald, commanding box office magnets, whose chiseled statuesque builds also reflected their equally big hearts.

The gentlemen would go back and forth a few more times before The Rock made his way back to the franchise,making a cameo appearancein apost-credits scenein 2023’sFast X.

In 2023, it was announced Johnson will officially make a comeback to the franchise with spinoff films about his character.

“Despite us having our differences, me and Vin, we’ve been like brothers for years, and despite our differences, when you lead with — number one, resolve — but also you think about the future and plans that are much bigger than ourselves,” he said in an Instagram video.

At the 2025 Golden Globe Awards, Diesel gave Johnson apointed shout-outas he presented the award for film cinematic and box office achievement. “Hi Dwayne,” Diesel said, to which the former WWE star simply smiled and nodded.

05of 09’Fifty Shades of Grey’FIFTY SHADES OF GREY POSTER.For a film franchise that was all about being sexy, bringing theFifty Shades of Greymovies to life was anything but.In an interview withVanity Fair,Dakota Johnson, who played Anastasia Steele, revealed that shooting the movie was made a little complicated because E.L. James, who wrote the50 Shadesbooks, was heavily involved with the script.“I signed up to do a very different version of the film we ended up making,” she told the magazine in 2022.“She had a lot of creative control, all day, every day, and she just demanded that certain things happen. There were parts of the books that just wouldn’t work in a movie, like the inner monologue, which was at times incredibly cheesy. It wouldn’t work to say out loud. It was always a battle. Always,” she revealed.In the same interview, the actress did clarify that any awkwardness on set wasnotbetween her and Jamie Dornan, who played Christian Grey.“There was never a time when we didn’t get along. I know it’s weird, but he’s like a brother to me. I love him so, so, so much. And we were really there for each other. We had to really trust each other and protect each other,” she said. “We were doing the weirdest things for years, and we needed to be a team: ‘We’re not doing that,’ or ‘You can’t do that camera angle.’“Director Sam Taylor-Johnson shared similar sentiments with Johnson about the on-set battles over certain scenes.“This was [James'] book and she had a very particular vision of how she wanted to see this film. And I had a diametrically opposed vision,”Taylor-Johnson toldThe Hollywood Reporter.“Where we got to is where we got to. The success of it was great, but the experience of it was tough.”She had previously toldThe Sunday Times,“With the benefit of hindsight, would I go throughFifty Shades of Greyagain? Of course I wouldn’t. I’d be mad.“In 2023,James briefly commented on the on-set drama toHuffPost, saying she’d learned from it if another book of hers were to be adapted. “What it taught me is, you don’t sweat the small stuff. Whew! And just be sure that all the creative team have read and liked the book … for the sake of the millions of fans of the books. And that’s all I’ll say on that, for now.”

05of 09

‘Fifty Shades of Grey’

FIFTY SHADES OF GREY POSTER.

For a film franchise that was all about being sexy, bringing theFifty Shades of Greymovies to life was anything but.

In an interview withVanity Fair,Dakota Johnson, who played Anastasia Steele, revealed that shooting the movie was made a little complicated because E.L. James, who wrote the50 Shadesbooks, was heavily involved with the script.

“I signed up to do a very different version of the film we ended up making,” she told the magazine in 2022.

“She had a lot of creative control, all day, every day, and she just demanded that certain things happen. There were parts of the books that just wouldn’t work in a movie, like the inner monologue, which was at times incredibly cheesy. It wouldn’t work to say out loud. It was always a battle. Always,” she revealed.

In the same interview, the actress did clarify that any awkwardness on set wasnotbetween her and Jamie Dornan, who played Christian Grey.

“There was never a time when we didn’t get along. I know it’s weird, but he’s like a brother to me. I love him so, so, so much. And we were really there for each other. We had to really trust each other and protect each other,” she said. “We were doing the weirdest things for years, and we needed to be a team: ‘We’re not doing that,’ or ‘You can’t do that camera angle.’”

Director Sam Taylor-Johnson shared similar sentiments with Johnson about the on-set battles over certain scenes.

“This was [James'] book and she had a very particular vision of how she wanted to see this film. And I had a diametrically opposed vision,”Taylor-Johnson toldThe Hollywood Reporter.“Where we got to is where we got to. The success of it was great, but the experience of it was tough.”

She had previously toldThe Sunday Times,“With the benefit of hindsight, would I go throughFifty Shades of Greyagain? Of course I wouldn’t. I’d be mad.”

In 2023,James briefly commented on the on-set drama toHuffPost, saying she’d learned from it if another book of hers were to be adapted. “What it taught me is, you don’t sweat the small stuff. Whew! And just be sure that all the creative team have read and liked the book … for the sake of the millions of fans of the books. And that’s all I’ll say on that, for now.”

06of 09

‘Terminator Salvation’

Terminator Salvation.

Back in 2009, a shocking audio tape ofChristian Balescreaming at cinematographer Shane Hurlburt on the set ofTerminator Salvationleaked and immediately went viral.

According toScreen Rant, Hurlburt had walked on set to inspect a light while Bale was in the middle of filming a scene. TheDark Knight Risesactor then launched into a four-minute verbal rant thatcontained 36 f-bombs.

07of 09

‘Justice League’

Justice League Poster.

With a star-studded cast, noted director and eager fans, it seemed 2017’sJustice Leaguewould be a sure hit at the box office. However, aseries of unfortunateevents saw the film open up to lackluster reception and fans campaigning to get a different version of the film.

Zack Snyder, who had previously directedBatman v. Superman: Dawn of Justicehad signed onto the project in 2014, but in 2017, he stepped away from filming following the death of his daughter. While Snyder maintained he left of his own volition, fans speculated that some restructuring at the studio may have played a part.

After Snyder’s departure, Joss Whedon (who had been hired to do re-writes on the film during Snyder’s tenure) moved into the director’s chair. His version of the film came out in November of the same year and was subject to backlash from Snyder fans, who launched a campaign asking Warner Bros. to release the #SnyderCut.

In 2020,Fisher spoke out toForbesabout the many issues on Whedon’s set, saying “race was just one of the issues with the reshoot process … there were massive blowups, threats, coercion, taunting, unsafe work conditions, belittling and gaslighting like you wouldn’t believe.”

In March 2021,Zack Snyder’s Justice Leaguewas released on HBO Max.

The following year,New York Magazinereleased a profile of Whedon that included the director’s response to allegations of misconduct on his sets. Specifically addressing Fisher’s claims, he said none of them were “either true or merited discussing” and described Fisher’s actions as “a malevolent force … We’re talking about a bad actor in both senses.”

08of 09

‘Blade: Trinity’

Blade Trinity Poster.

Not only were there some creative differences between the film’s director and writer, David Goyer and New Line Cinema, but there were also some tensions on set.

In a 2012 interview with theAV Club,Patton Oswalt, who played Hedges, alleged that Wesley Snipes strangled the director at one point. Snipes vehemently refuted the accusation, tellingThe Guardian, “Let me tell you one thing. If I had tried to strangle David Goyer, you probably wouldn’t be talking to me now,” he told the outlet.

“A Black guy with muscles strangling the director of a movie is going to jail, I guarantee you,” he added. Snipes wound up suing the production for $5 million.

Asked about the incident and the production as a whole, Goyer toldThe Hollywood Reporter, “Let’s just say I have tremendous respect for Wesley as an actor. He used to be a friend. We’re not friends anymore. I am friends with Patton and I’ve worked with Patton since, so … "

“I don’t think anyone involved in that film had a good experience on that film, certainly I didn’t,” he continued. “I don’t think anybody involved with that film is happy with the results. It was a very tortured production.”

09of 09

‘Snow White and the Huntsman’

Snow White and the Huntsman Poster.

Kristen Stewart’srole as Snow White inSnow White and the Huntsmanwas meant to be the beginning of a franchise, but scandal cut that short.

Looking back at the backlash, Stewart told Howard Stern, “We lived in a different time then, you know what I mean? I feel like the slut-shaming that went down was so absurd.”

“And they should’ve put me in that movie! It would’ve been better. Not to be a d—, but… they didn’t put me in that movie because I went through such a highly publicized scandal, and so they were like scared of touching that.”

She later added, “That was a really hard period of my life, I was really young, I didn’t really know how to deal with that. I made some mistakes. And honestly, it’s no one’s business.”

source: people.com