LOS ANGELES (AP) — “It Ends With Us” actor and director Justin Baldoni has sued his co-star Blake Lively and her husband, “Deadpool” actor Ryan Reynolds, for defamation and extortion on Thursday in the latest move in a bitter legal battle surrounding the dark romantic drama.

Justin Baldoni is taking legal action against his "It Ends With Us" co-star and her husband in a lawsuit he filed on Thursday.

The "Deadpool" franchise is named in Justin Baldoni's new lawsuit against "It Ends With Us" costar Blake Lively and her husband Ryan Reynolds. Here's why.

Baldoni and Lively have been at odds since the now-endless It Ends With Us press tour, after which rumors of sexual harassment allegations spilled into the press. By the end of Us, Baldoni had filed suit against the Times for its bombshell story accusing him of harassing Lively and orchestrating a smear campaign against him.

Justin Baldoni is leaning on the ones closest to him amid the “It Ends With Us” drama. After the actor, 40, filed a lawsuit against Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds, their publicist Leslie Sloane and Sloane’s p.r. firm Vision PR Inc. for $400 million on Thursday, he revealed how he’s coping.

The ongoing legal drama between Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively continues, now extending to the Marvel universe and Ryan Reynolds' box-office hit "Deadpool & Wolverine." Lively's actor husband is again being swept up in the mounting legal issues surrounding Baldoni,

Baldoni’s lawyer, Bryan Freedman, had said for weeks he planned to file a suit against Lively, Baldoni’s co-star on “It End With Us,” and Reynolds, Lively’s husband.

The lawsuit is the latest legal action in a feud tied to the 2024 film “It Ends With Us,” which starred Ms. Lively and Mr. Baldoni, who also directed the film.

From allegations of planting articles to concocting smear campaigns through text messages, Hollywood public relations has faced a messy few weeks.

Lively's legal team spoke up hours after Baldoni filed a suit against her and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, over what transpired on the set of 'It Ends With Us' and in the weeks following the movie's release.

"It Ends With Us" director and actor Justin Baldoni filed a lawsuit on Thursday against his co-star Blake Lively, adding another layer to the legal saga between the pair that began in December.