AuthorE.L. Jameswas apparently not the most pleasant person to work with as Universal brought her acclaimed novelFifty Shades of Greyto the big screen. Both screenwriter Kelly Marcel and director Sam Taylor-Johnson have bailed on the sequel, hinting thatE.L. Jameswas to blame for their departure. So this time out,E.L. James, who has a lot of creative control over the movies, has enlisted her own husband,Niall Leonard, to pen the sequelFifty Shades Darker.
Niall Leonard, who has two sons withE.L. James, is an author himself and a British screenwriter. He has written for the TV series Air Force One Is Down and Wire in the Blood. Niall Leonard is also author of the Crusher book series, and worked as an uncredited screenplay polisher on the firstFifty Shades of Grey, which opened earlier this year and proved to be a bigger hit than expected. Said producer Michael De Luca in a statement toTHR:
“Niall is an outstanding writer in his own right, with multiple established credits, and we are lucky to have him join Team Fifty.”
E.L. Jamesreportedly clashed with screenwriter Kelly Marcel and director Sam Taylor-Johnson over the ending of the original film. Something that is unlikely to happen here. Because of their departure, though, and the fact that starsDakota JohnsonandJamie Dornanare both seeking pay raises, there hasn’t been much movement on the Fifty Shades Darker sequel. The follow-up is indeed happening, though Universal has yet to issue an official green light for the project. The original pulled in a massive worldwide take of $568.8 million. It was earlier rumored thatE.L. Jameswanted to write the screenplay herself. Though, she has no scripting experience. The hiring of her husband seems to be the happy compromise. Its not yet clear how much she will eventually influence his work.Fifty Shades Darkeris currently scheduled for a 2017 release, but that won’t be confirmed until a new director is in place.
