Blake Lively ended rumored feud with Anna Kendrick to shed 'villain' image amid 'It Ends with Us' drama

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Blake Lively has put aside any and all "personality differences" with her 'A Simple Favor' co-star Anna Kendrick in an effort to shed her reputation as a "villain" amid the 'It Ends With Us' drama.

The 'Gossip Girl' alum's name surprisingly took up a significant amount of Hollywood rumors this summer because of her connection to the movie adaptation of Colleen Hoover's contentious novel 'It Ends With Us'.

However, this wasn't the first time a Blake project attracted more attention than expected. The 37-year-old Hollywood diva and Anna, her co-star in the 2018 thriller 'A Simple Favor', were allegedly at odds even before the film's release.

Blake Lively put aside 'personality differences' with co-star Anna Kendrick

In an attempt to overcome her reputation as the "most hated" person, Blake Lively is willing to go above and beyond, using her and Ryan Reynolds' considerable power to land roles and, if needed, help them out of sticky situations.

The Hollywood diva and her 'A Simple Favor' co-star Anna Kendrick were allegedly at odds for some time. According to reports, Anna's "snarky" comments about Blake's best friend Taylor Swift were the source of their discord.

As Blake and Anna prepare to promote 'A Simple Favor 2' in 2025, it is reported that Blake is prepared to display a more vulnerable side of herself.

An insider told Life & Style magazine, "Blake has now had the biggest direct hit of her career with It Ends With Us but she’s not going to let herself be permanently painted as the villain every project she does going forward."

"In fact, she is pushing back against that strongly and making sure her real allies know just how much they are valued," the insider added.

The insider stated that the two actresses "managed to put aside their personality differences" in order to embark on 'A Simple Favor 2', a project that some had written off as "impossible."

Blake Lively's 'differences' with Justin Baldoni and future of 'It Ends With Us'

Rumors of a conflict between Blake and her costar Justin Baldoni surfaced during the 'It Ends With Us' production.

Blake's reputation as a "mean girl" became deeper after previously unreleased interviews showed her responding snidely to a reporter who tried to congratulate her on her pregnancy.

"Sony is holding out hope that Blake and Justin Baldoni can come to some kind of understanding to get the 'It Ends With Us' sequel off the ground in the next 18 months," the source noted.

"They’re doing everything they can to make that happen, while respecting Justin and Blake for the job they’ve already done."

The insider stated that Blake's "personality differences with Justin or anybody else" would not be a "deciding factor" and that she would return "for more movies if it’s a great business proposition."

The insider ended by saying, "But ‘IEWU‘ is all about money, and it always has been."

Anna Kendrick calls reuniting with 'A Simple Favor' co-star Blake Lively 'lovely'

Blake Lively will reprise her pant-clad character Emily Nelson in the follow-up to 'A Simple Favor' alongside Anna Kendrick. Despite being two of the most famous leading ladies in contemporary Hollywood, many began to speculate about strained feelings between the two actresses during interviews for the 2018 movie.

In an interview with PEOPLE on her directing debut, 'Woman of the Hour', Anna, 39, gave a sneak peek at the impending follow-up to her 2018 smash, which followed widowed mother Stephanie (Anna) as she looked into the disappearance of her glitzy new friend Emily (Blake).

For the sequel, which was also directed by Paul Feig and was shot in Europe early this year, Anna stated that it was "lovely" to be again together with her costar.

Anna told the outlet, "She lives on the East Coast, I live on the West Coast, so we don't get to see each other often."

"But it was lovely, and I think that those characters have such weird chemistry that it's so fun to just get the gang back together. And it does feel a little bit like riding a bike."

Interviews with the pair from the original movie have come to light since the sequel announcement, and they seemed anxious and uncomfortable.

However, many have ignored this because they believe it has just been misinterpreted because both actresses are known for having a dry and sardonic sense of humor.

During the original movie's press tour, Anna and Blake talked to BuzzFeed about how a call-time error had kept Anna waiting for Blake for an hour. "That was the day I decided I hate you," Anna said at the time.

She added, "We were all talking s**t about you," per The Express.

Anna further stated in another interview that she disabled Blake's social media account. The 'Trolls' actress said of her meeting with Blake, "I thought she seemed nice, and little did I know..." and told her co-star not to touch her.

With Blake calling Anna the female equivalent of her husband Ryan on social media, it became more apparent that the alleged conflict was purely comical.