If Universal ever plans a Fifty Shades of Grey Cinematic Universe, the studio better check Jamie Dornan and Dakota Johnson’s contracts because they aren’t signed for spinoffs.
Sources for The Hollywood Reporter said that Johnson and Dornan were only signed for films based on E.L. James’ initial trilogy, which also includes Fifty Shades Darker and Fifty Shades Freed. However, should these sequels do just as well as the first Fifty Shades movie did, Universal might want to make a movie out of Grey, the new novel James announced on Monday.
If Universal wants to do a film based on Grey, that might prove a bit cumbersome, since the new book is supposed to tell the exact same story as James’ first book, just from Christian Grey’s perspective.
The studio has a few other important issues to solve before even thinking about Grey. First, they have to agree to pay Johnson and Dornan more, as they each only received $250,000 (plus bonuses based on box office performance) for Fifty Shades. They have been seeking a significant pay raise.
Next, Universal chairman Donna Langley has to hire a director for Darker and Freed. James’ husband, Niall Leonard, is writing the script for Darker, but Fifty Shades director Sam Taylor-Johnson has left the franchise. Since Darker and Freed are coming out with just a year inbetween, Langley will need to hire a director who will make both movies.
Darker is scheduled for Feb. 10, 2017 and Freed is set for Feb. 9, 2018.
As for James’ new book, Grey is already guaranteed to be a bestseller when it is released on June 18. The book has the top spot on Amazon and Barnes & Noble’s book charts.
cover from EL James