Director James Foley, whose credits include Glengarry Glen Ross and more recently 12 episodes of House of Cards, has, according to Variety, officially been offered the role of director for the Fifty Shades of Grey sequel, Fifty Shades Darker. It is believed that negotiations will start soon, with production slated to start in early 2016.
Jamie Dornan and Dakota Johnson are already signed on to reprise their roles as Christian Grey and Anastasia Steele, respectively. Also revisiting the project are producers Michael De Luca, Dana Brunetti, and 50 Shades author E. L. James. Someone who won’t be coming back, though, is Kelly Marcel, the original film’s screenwriter — who felt she was artistically constrained by the producers — particularly Brunetti. This time the writing duties will be handled by E. L. James’ husband, Niall Leonard, who has, prior to this, strictly written for TV (Wild At Heart and Monarch of the Glen).
Fifty Shades Darker is slated for a February 2017 release.