After several bust-ups on set over the direction of the movie, it is currently rumoured that Sam Taylor-Johnson will not be returning to direct the sequels for Fifty Shades of Grey. Not only that, but it looks like script writer Kelly Marcel won’t be returning either.
According to Variety, the book series author E.L. James is exercising her ‘creative control’ and is demanding she write the screenplays for the second and third instalments of the series. According to their sources, James was a disruptive force during the creative process of Fifty Shades of Grey and had arguments with Marcel over studio requests to tone down the sexual content.
One downside for Universal is that Fifty Shades Darker could miss its Valentine’s Day 2016 release date now that James is writing the script. James, who has never written a script before, could require re-writes which would delay the production process. At best, Universal can hope to begin production of Fifty Shades Darker in the last quarter of 2015 or early 2016, meaning the film will probably be released on Valentine’s Day 2017.
E.L. James turned down several offers from studios to adapt her work, waiting until they became a worldwide phenomenon. This gave her bargaining powers most authors don’t have, which included creative control over the vision of the movie. “We disagreed a lot,” Taylor-Johnson said back January. “She created these characters and the story. I was trying to create a film experience that would honour the book but at the same time give us a fresh perspective. That was difficult for her. We’d battle things out. I think you could say we crossed every scenario through our battles.”
Fifty Shades of Grey has currently brought in around $300 million worldwide. Listen to the Flickering Myth Podcast review using the player below and read our two reviews here and here.
Originally published February 20, 2015. Updated July 3, 2023.
