'Fifty Shades of Grey' Sequels Set Release Dates

Update: Universal has revealed that the first teaser for Fifty Shades Darker will appear exclusively on the digital HD and Blu-ray release of Fifty Shades of Grey. The digital release will arrive on May 1, followed by the Blu-ray on May 8. You’ll also be able to watch an alternate ending for the first film. In addition, Universal has released the first still from the Fifty Shades Darker teaser, which we’ve included at the bottom of the post.

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Just yesterday it was reported that Fifty Shades trilogy author E.L. James has hired her husband, fellow author Niall Leonard, to write the screenplay for Fifty Shades Darker. Now that a screenwriter has been set for the first sequel (and, if things go well, possibly the next one), Universal is starting to solidify their plans for the remaining films in the franchise. The studio has announced release dates for both sequels, with stars Jamie Dornan and Dakota Johnson expected to return.

The studio made the announcement at CinemaCon (yes, it’s still going on), revealing that Fifty Shades Darker will arrive on February 10, 2017, followed by Fifty Shades Freed on February 9, 2018, in keeping with the first film’s February/Valentine’s appropriate release date.

While Johnson and Dornan are both, um, bound by their contracts to return for the sequels, it’s recently been reported that the pair are negotiating for higher salaries — which is fair, given how well Fifty Shades of Grey performed at the box office. As previously mentioned, E.L. James’ husband will write Fifty Shades Darker, based on the second book in the trilogy, while Universal has not yet hired a director for the film. Now that James has successfully obtained more control over the franchise (that’s an eyeroll for another day), it’s doubtful that the film will acquire a director without her complete approval.

Hopefully they’ll be able to tie a director down soon. (Sorry, not sorry.)

Universal