Development continues on the Fifty Shades of Grey sequel Fifty Shades Darker, and today we’re learning who may helm the project.
Deadline reports that James Foley is the current “frontrunner” to direct Fifty Shades Darker, and they add that there’s already talks for him to helm the finale, Fifty Shades Freed.
Negotiations haven’t begun yet with the director. Foley is known for helming Fear starring Mark Wahlberg, as well as several episodes of Netflix’s House of Cards led by Kevin Spacey and Robin Wright.
Foley directed a big fingerbanging scene in Fear between Mark Wahlberg and Reese Witherspoon, so he knows about how to shoot sexy scenes:
The report also reveals that Universal is considering shooting Darker and Freed back-to-back. This would make sense for several reasons: For starters, it would help the studio save a little money. Two, having a single director and the cast work on two projects back-to-back will help the two films have a more cohesive storyline.
Judging by this tweet from author E.L. James this morning, she too is thinking about Fifty Shades Darker today. Remember, her husband was hired by Universal to write the sequel’s script:
Gotta go through a script… :)
— E L James (@E_L_James) August 20, 2015
Fifty Shades of Grey was a huge success when it entered theaters over Valentine’s Day weekend. The sequel is slated to hit theaters February 10, 2017, and the finale will open one year later. Maybe a fourth film will happen too?
The director of the first film, Sam Taylor-Johnson, announced in March that she would not be returning for the sequel. One reason is probably because the director and author E.L. James went through a very public battle over creative decisions.
Fifty Shades is a huge new franchise for Universal. The first film made $166 million in the United States and $569 million worldwide.