Why did Blake Lively replace Katherine Heigl in the Adaline era?

“The Age of Adaline” — directed by Lee Toland Krieger and released in 2015 — is, simply put, a film centered around the idea that Blake Lively is an inhumanly beautiful creature. This makes it difficult to imagine that anyone else could play Adaline Bowman, a woman unstuck in time and unable to age. But what you may not know is that Grey’s Anatomy veteran Katherine Heigl was originally supposed to play the lead role but ended up dropping out… so what happened here?

Heigl, who originated the role of Dr. Izzie Stevens on the long-running ABC medical drama — and left the series partway through its sixth season — was initially cast in the film opposite Angela Lansbury, who was supposed to play Adaline’s eldest daughter. Fleming. (At this point, Andy Tennant, known for projects like “Sweet Home Alabama” and “Hitch,” was attached to direct the film.) Long before the film was released, Heigl exited the project in 2010, according to a report published in 2010. Delivery time; Initially, the outlet said Heigl’s departure was due to the ongoing conflict. (This isn’t at all surprising since rumors about Heigl’s “difficult” nature have plagued her since her time on “Grey’s Anatomy,” largely because Heigl butted heads with then-showrunner and creator Shonda Rhimes.)

In an update to the story, Gary Lucchesi, a partner at Lakeshore Entertainment — one of the two companies producing the film — said that Heigl left “The Age of Adaline” because she had recently adopted a daughter and she was not. Not ready to return to work fully. “She’s made two films with us and we definitely support her decision,” Lucchesi said at the time, referring to “The Ugly Truth” and “One for the Money.” He continued, “We were scheduled to film in mid-March and we hope to make it happen. We are huge fans of hers and if that’s what she has to do, we respect that.” Natalie Portman was then offered the role, but according to Entertainment WeeklyI rejected him; In the end, Lively got the lead role.

If you were worried about Katherine Heigl after learning she left such a buzzy movie before filming even started, don’t worry; The actress has been working fairly steadily since leaving “Grey’s Anatomy” and took some time to be with her family and daughter. In 2014, Heigl produced and led the NBC series State of Affairs as Charleston “Charlie” Whitney Tucker, a CIA analyst who spends her days preparing briefings for the President of the United States (played in the series by Alfre Woodard). The series was canceled after only one season. Heigl then appeared on “Suits” in the series’ final two seasons as corporate lawyer Samantha Wheeler, but her biggest success came in 2021 thanks to the Netflix original series based on the hit novel.

“Firefly Lane” — based on the best-selling book by Kristin Hannah — stars Heigl as Tully Hart and lets her play across two timelines, working her way up the corporate ladder as an aspiring news anchor in the 1980s and as a successful talk show host. In the 2000s. (Ali Scopay also plays 1970s teenager Tully.) Opposite “Scrubs” veteran Sarah Chalke — who plays Kate Mularkey, Tully’s best friend — Heigl shines as Tully, a woman who exudes a confidence that hides a deeply hurt interior; The series has proven that the actress can still dominate a successful TV show.

As for Blake Lively, her star continued to rise after shelming “The Age of Adaline” alongside Ellen Burstyn (who ended up playing her daughter Fleming), Game of Thrones star Michiel Huisman, and Harrison Ford. In 2016, Lively proved she could lead a film on her own with The Shallows — essentially a solo project, considering she plays a woman stranded in the ocean fending off a shark — and in 2018, she starred in Camp thriller “A Simple Service” Opposite Anna Kendrick, wearing suits and brandishing martinis as mysterious woman and fashion maven Emily Nelson. (The untitled sequel is supposed to be released this year, which director Paul Feig confirmed after a decision was made on social media to halt the film.)

Recently, Lively has been in the news thanks to The never-ending drama surrounding her 2024 film It Ends With Us, Based on the best-selling novel of the same name by Colleen Hoover. Lively, who produced the film and plays aspiring flower seller Lily Blossom Bloom, She filed a complaint with the California Department of Civil Rights in December 2024 alleging that her partner and director, “Jane the Virgin” star Justin Baldoni, created a hostile work environment on set and also sexually harassed her.. Baldoni responded by suing The New York Times over its reporting on Lively’s complaint, and Lively pursued a federal lawsuit against Baldoni and his production company Wayfarer Studios. All of this is still ongoing as of this writing, and it seems likely that the full truth of the situation regarding Baldoni’s behavior — which, according to Lively’s complaint, was rather despicable — will come out sooner rather than later.

Anyway, “The Age of Adaline” is now streaming on Netflix if you want to imagine an alternate universe where Katherine Heigl played the lead role instead.