While the search continues for a new author-approved director to replace the recently-exited Sam Taylor-Johnson, Fifty Shades Darker now at least has a screenwriter. The sequel to Fifty Shades Of Grey will be adapted from E.L. James's novel by Niall Leonard.
This will have gone down well with James, because Leonard is her husband. It should mean, if you will, that screenwriter and author stay on the same page, avoiding the 'creative differences' that dogged the first movie.
Leonard doesn't yet have any other big screen or Hollywood credits to his name, but does have a long background in British TV. He wrote episodes of Wire In The Blood, Wild At Heart, Monarch Of The Glen and Hornblower, among many others (there's a smutty Hornblower / Fifty Shades joke here somewhere, but we'll leave you to make it yourselves). He also directed episodes of The Bill.
It's further evidence of the unprecedented power - for a first-time author - that James is wielding behind the scenes. Many have suggested that Fifty Shades Of Grey's success, both commercial and artistic, was in spite of rather than because of her, but it seems clear that both Fifty Shades Darker and threequel Fifty Shades Freed will hew far closer to her 'vision' from the novels.
Existing contracts mean that Jamie Dornan will be back for the sequels as billionaire Christian Grey, and Dakota Johnson will return as Anastasia Steele. There are no start or release dates yet, but Fifty Shades Darker is currently expected in 2017.
from Empire News
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