Universal Studios announced at CinemaCon today in Las Vegas that it has finally scheduled release dates for the inevitable Fifty Shades of Grey sequels, even though they don’t have a director yet.
Fifty Shades Darker will hit theaters on Feb. 10, 2017, since the studio is hoping to repeat the Valentine’s Day success of the first film. According to The Hollywood Reporter, that will be followed a year later by Fifty Shades Freed on Feb. 9, 2018.
The series is still without a director after Sam Taylor-Johnson left following Fifty Shades. Writer Kelly Marcel also left. The two reportedly clashed with E.L. James, the writer of the novels the films are based on.
James reportedly wanted more control over the franchise than studios are usually willing to give authors. Universal did end up hiring James’ husband, Niall Leonard, to write Darker. His previous experience is mostly in the U.K. television industry and he is also the author of the Crusher book series.
Dakota Johnson, who plays Anastasia Steele, and Jamie Dornan, who stars as Christian Grey, are both signed for Darker and Freed. However, they are both looking for a significant pay raise.
Fifty Shades grossed $568.8 million worldwide and hits Blu-ray on May 8.
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