In August, Justin Baldoni believed Pac-Man, the yellow, pellet-eating protagonist of the 1980s arcade game, could be what he needed to change the messy narrative surrounding the release of "It Ends With Us".
For weeks, rumors of a feud between director-star Baldoni and his co-star Blake Lively had dominated news headlines, and he was searching for a way to turn the page.
According to a text he sent his PR team on August 18, Baldoni suggested sharing the news that he would next direct a Pac-Man movie would help him “move towards the future.”
But Pac-Man, which Baldoni and his Wayfarer Studios have been developing since 2022, may no longer be in his future.
It is among a slew of projects that are now in doubt as his feud with Lively turned into a full-fledged legal war.
Sources close to Baldoni said he has “lost three jobs and hundreds of millions of dollars” amid the legal battle, which began when Lively filed a complaint December 21 accusing Baldoni of sexual harassment on the set of "It Ends With Us" and launching a post-release smear campaign.
Baldoni and Wayfarer were subsequently dropped by WME, which Wayfarer relied on to help package both their own projects and find third-party films to finance as an executive producer.
Aside from Pac-Man, it is unclear what other projects were lost, however, insiders close to the situation say that virtually every partner doing business with Wayfarer is “having a conversation.”
The outfit has deep pockets at a time when many indie financing companies have fallen by the wayside or are facing tough times, but Lively and husband Ryan Reynolds, whom Baldoni is taking to court in his suit, wield tremendous clout in Hollywood, so it’s unclear how much collateral damage there will be for Wayfarer.
Co-founded by Baldoni and billionaire Steve Sarowitz, Wayfarer is led by CEO Jamey Heath.
Wayfarer went through several iterations before being rebranded as Wayfarer Studios in 2020.
All three men are close acquaintances and members of the Baha’i faith.
Insiders say Sarowitz, who invested $125 million in the company in 2021, is determined to use whatever resources are needed to clear both Baldoni and Wayfarer.
Wayfarer has developed, financed and produced projects from the ground floor, including the $51 million-grossing "It Ends With Us".
It also has invested in a number of outside projects, such as Alcon’s Garfield movie (the series is distributed by Sony).
Wayfarer has a number of projects in the can, including Scarlett Johansson’s directorial debut "Eleanor the Great", which Tristar and Sony Pictures Classics are backing. It also has the Rainn Wilson action-comedy "Code 3" that debuted at TIFF last year.
It has a number of book adaptations in development, including Sam Tschida’s "Errands & Espionage", about a divorcée recruited for the CIA.
No new projects have materialized for Wayfarer amid the Lively legal battle, though the company is interested in pursuing a new deal of some sort as a show of good faith that people would still like to do business with them.
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