Justin Baldoni fires back at Marvel appeal to be removed from lawsuit against Blake Lively

Since December 2004, It Ends With Us stars Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively have been involved in a legal battle. Baldoni has claimed Ryan Reynolds, Lively’s husband, allegedly based a character named Nicepool on him, in the 2024 blockbuster movie, Deadpool and Wolverine. During the ongoing legal battle with Lively, Justin Baldoni had demanded Marvel to present documents that could validate his claims. However Marvel filed a motion to quash Baldoni's subpoena, last week.

Baldoni’s legal representatives filed a letter with Judge Lewis J. Liman on Monday, April 28, voicing opposition to Marvel’s "motion to quash the Wayfarer Parties’ Subpoena and for a protective order.” As reported by Us Weekly, the letter accuses Marvel of failing to:

“meet and confer with us ‘in a good faith effort to resolve this dispute,’” directly responding to Marvel’s previous statement.

Marvel had submitted a letter to Judge Lewis J. Liman requesting a protective order that would prohibit the disclosure of their confidential documents.

“The requested documents are particularly sensitive because they relate to the development of a character in an ongoing movie franchise. Marvel has built the success of the MCU in large part by interconnecting storylines, plots, and characters across its titles, including ‘crossover’ events and sequels. Whether and how such elements will appear in upcoming, unreleased projects is the subject of much public interest, and this information is closely guarded by Marvel.” stated the letter.

In responce Justin Baldoni’s lawyers shared their point of view and attempts carried on by them to work things out. They stated:

“On April 7, 2025, my office met and conferred with Marvel’s counsel via telephone about the objections, and although we attempted in good faith to address Marvel’s purported concerns about confidentiality and relevancy, Marvel’s counsel interrupted us, refusing to engage in that discussion.”

The letter continued:

“Instead, Marvel’s counsel interjected and stated he merely wanted to know what documents the Wayfarer Parties ‘really’ needed, regardless of the Subpoena’s demand for all documents concerning: (a) the creation, development, modification or portrayal of Ryan Reynolds’ ‘Nicepool’ character from Deadpool & Wolverine; and (b) Justin Baldoni.”

Back in January, attorneys representing Baldoni issued a litigation hold notice to Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige and Disney CEO Bob Iger. The letter, urged the executives to “preserve evidence” that could be relevant in court. Specifically, the request covered all documents and communications tied to Reynolds’ actions involving any Deadpool film, as well as anything:

“relating to or reflecting a deliberate attempt to mock, harass, ridicule, intimate or bully Baldoni through the character of ‘Nicepool.’”

What prompted Justin Baldoni to claim Nicepool was based on him

Justin Baldoni had shared his concerns over specific scenes from Deadpool and Wolverine to support his claims. According to him, remarks made by Nicepool reflected the ongoing allegations made against him.

At one point, Nicepool turns to Ladypool (portrayed by Blake Lively) and remarks:

"you can't even tell," in reference to her figure after childbirth.

Later, in a very different tone, he exclaims:

"Where in God's name is the intimacy coordinator?!"

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According to Baldoni, the movie dialogues can be regarded as a punch directed toward him, as they are allegedly aimed at bolstering the allegations made against him by Blake Lively. The allegations included that Justin Baldoni fat-shamed her and behaved inappropriately towards her during the filming of their movie It Ends With Us. He also interpreted the “feminist” remark from Nicepool as a subtle attack on how he presented himself during the press tour, as an ally and advocate.

Lively and Baldoni's case is set to go on trail on March 9, 2026 as per reports shared by Us magazine.

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