Though it's far from a masterpiece, there's something to be said about the way Fifty Shades of Grey so perfectly showed how discussions of sexual preferences come out without simultaneously typifying Christian Grey and Ana Steele as "perverts." The scenes where they discuss what Grey (Jamie Dornan) requires in bed from Steele (Dakota Johnson) are rare in cinema and exhilaratingly adult in tone. Where similar discussions in, say, a Judd Apatow production would immediately speak to the awkwardness or weakness of the character, Fifty Shades of Grey took those moments seriously and that's to be applauded, even if the rest of the movie was uneven and tonally all over the place.

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Image via Universal Pictures

With James Foley at the helm of Fifty Shades Darker, there's hope that the new film will focus more on those adult moments and will stop somewhat legitimising stalkers. The first teaser for the film, which you can take a look at below, doesn't give you much of an idea at all about where the new film will go but it does let you know that the full trailer will be hitting online tomorrow, which will hopefully give us the goods. The poster, which you can also take a look at below, suggests that more mask play is in the cards but that will likely be the tamest part of this next part of Grey and Steele's romance.

Fifty Shades Darker will be released on Valentine's Day (February 14th) 2017.


Here's the trailer announcement for Fifty Shades Darker:

Here's the official synopsis for Fifty Shades Darker:

Jamie Dornan and Dakota Johnson return as Christian Grey and Anastasia Steele in Fifty Shades Darker, the second chapter based on the worldwide bestselling “Fifty Shades” phenomenon.  Expanding upon events set in motion in 2015’s blockbuster film that grossed more than $560 million globally, the new installment arrives for Valentine’s Day and invites you to slip into something a shade darker.

 

When a wounded Christian Grey tries to entice a cautious Ana Steele back into his life, she demands a new arrangement before she will give him another chance.  As the two begin to build trust and find stability, shadowy figures from Christian’s past start to circle the couple, determined to destroy their hopes for a future together.

 

Also returning from Fifty Shades of Grey are Academy Award® winner Marcia Gay Harden, Jennifer Ehle, Luke Grimes, Rita Ora, Victor Rasuk, Eloise Mumford and Max Martini, who are joined for the first time by Oscar® winner Kim Basinger, Hugh Dancy, Bella Heathcote and Eric Johnson.

 

Fifty Shades Darker is directed by James Foley (Fear, House of Cards) and once again produced by Michael De Luca, Dana Brunetti and Marcus Viscidi, alongside E L James, the creator of the culture-spanning blockbuster series.  The screenplay is by Niall Leonard, based on the book by James.

Here's the poster for Fifty Shades Darker:

fifty-shades-darker-poster


fifty-shades-of-grey-dakota-johnson-jamie-dornan
Image via Universal
fifty-shades-of-grey-jamie-dornan
Image via Universal