"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.

The suit filed in federal court in New York by Baldoni and production company Wayfarer Studios seeks at least $400 million for damages that include lost future income. It alleges that Lively and Reynolds hijacked the production and marketing of "It Ends With Us" and manipulated media to smear Baldoni and others on the production with false allegations of sexual and other harassment.