Blake Lively returns to big screen amid movie drama in 'Another Simple Favor' trailer

Blake Lively is returning to the big screen.

Amid a legal firestorm surrounding her summer blockbuster "It Ends with Us," Lively is back alongside Anna Kendrick in a film about betrayal and bad intentions.

A new teaser trailer out Wednesday offered the first look at "Another Simple Favor," a sequel to the pair's 2018 dark comedy "A Simple Favor."

The movie, which will premiere opening night at the 2025 SXSW Film & TV Festival in March, sees Stephanie (Kendrick) on her way to the wedding of Emily (Lively) ? years after a joint murder-suicide mission landed one in jail, and one with a publishing contract.

Now, Emily is out of prison and set to wed a wealthy Italian businessman, played by Michele Morrone, and she wants Stephanie as her maid of honor. The trailer previews a reunion just as eerily charged and potentially violent as their first go-around, reviving the "what are her intentions?" question central to the success of the first movie.

That the movie stars Lively as a calculated and at times outright sinister figure may add to its allure as she faces an ongoing battle in the court of law ? and public opinion ? with former co-star Justin Baldoni.

Baldoni and Lively, who co-headlined the film adaptation of Colleen Hoover's bestselling book "It Ends with Us," have since publicly splintered, with Lively alleging Baldoni sexually harassed her and others on set, then coordinated an online smear campaign to discredit her.

Baldoni, has countered that it was Lively who behaved poorly on set and used her influence alongside husband Ryan Reynolds to extort and defame him.

The two are headed to trial in New York in March 2026.

Whether Lively will opt to promote this new film with interviews and appearances in the meantime remains to be seen. It was the promotional tour for "It Ends with Us" that first began unspooling what Lively alleges was a calculated crusade to harm her reputation and prevent her from speaking out against Baldoni.

'Simple Favor 2' trailer

'Another Simple Favor' cast

Henry Golding, Andrew Rannells, Bashir Salahuddin, Joshua Satine, Ian Ho and Kelly McCormack are all returning to the cast for "Simple Favor" round two, with new additions Morrone and Allison Janney.

How to watch 'A Simple Favor' sequel

The 120-minute film will be available for streaming on Amazon Prime Video May 1, where producers no doubt hope it will follow in the successful footprints of the first movie, which was ranked among Netflix' most-watched films as the sequel began production, Variety reports.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'Another Simple Favor' trailer: Blake Lively, Anna Kendrick are back