Fifty Shades Darker filming begins in 2016, James Foley to direct both sequels

After the massively successful Fifty Shades Of Grey, Universal Studios had been facing a huge challenge in finding the perfect director to helm its sequel and start production. After months of speculations, rumours and uncertainties, there is finally some good news for Fifty Shades Darker.

Filming for the movie, based on EL James's eponymous bestseller, will soon start. The studio has hired James Foley to helm the film, The Wrap reported. British director Sam Taylor-Johnson declared her exit from the blockbuster franchise citing creative differences with the author of the novel.

Variety reports that the movie starring Jamie Dornan and Dakota Johnson is currently in the pre-production stage and that it will start production in early 2016. Universal Studios has revealed that the second and third movie of the trilogy will shoot back-to-back and they will premiere in 2017 and 2018 respectively with Foley directing both. Michael De Luca and Dana Brunetti will return as producers of the movie along with the novel's author.

It will be interesting to see how Foley handles the tricky franchise. He has previously directed Glengarry Glen Ross and Fear - a thriller with Mark Wahlberg and Reese Witherspoon as the lead. James's husband, Niall Leonard, has been hired by Universal to write the script for both the sequels, which are expected to be crafted as thrillers rather than as focussing on the kinky love story of the BDSM obsessed billionaire and his girlfriend.

The BDSM-themed erotic movie collected a whopping $566m worldwide against a budget of $40m and fans of Jamie Dornan and Dakota Johnson are eagerly waiting for their return as the wealthy entrepreneur Christian Grey and the naive college student Anastasia Steele.

The upcoming movie will add thriller elements to it and will show how Dornan's character tries to woo his love Ana back, while she juggles between her new job and a boss who too is attracted towards her. Fifty Shades Darker is scheduled to premiere on 10 February 2017 and Fifty Shades Freed will hit theatres on 9 February 2018.