You’d be forgiven for totally forgetting, but a sequel to Fifty Shades of Grey is still in development. Coming to us in the form of Fifty Shades Darker, the film has been flying pretty low under the radar so far, perhaps due to the on-set drama that went down on the first outing. Whatever the case may be, Universal is still pushing ahead with a follow-up, despite the fact that no one really seems to care for it, and today, we have some casting news to report.
Variety is telling us that Kim Basinger is circling the role of Elena Lincoln, “Christian Grey’s business partner and former lover.” Though we don’t see her in the first film, she is referred to and mentioned as being the one who introduced him to the BDSM lifestyle. In Fifty Shades Darker, she’ll arrive on the scene and take a disliking to Christian’s relationship with Anastasia.
Starring alongside Basinger will be Jamie Dornan and Dakota Johnson, of course, as well as Max Martini, Luke Grimes and Rita Ora, among others. Gone for this outing though is director Sam Taylor-Johnson, who called the first film one of the worst experiences of her life due to on set clashes with Fifty Shades author E.L. James.
Replacing her will be James Foley, an odd choice to helm the sequel for sure, but one that has piqued our interest. With the shake ups behind the scenes, we’re curious to see if this outing fares better than the first.
Fifty Shades Darker will hit theatres on February 10th, 2017, followed by the final film in the trilogy, Fifty Shades Freed, arriving on February 9th, 2018.
