Fifty Shades Darker (film) would be "more of a thriller." In July 2015, it was confirmed that singer Rita Ora would reprise her role, Mia Grey, in the sequel. On August 20, 2015, it was revealed by "Deadline" that James Foley was the front-runner to direct the sequel and third film "Fifty Shades Freed", while the studio was also eyeing other directors, including Rebecca Thomas, Mark Pellington, and Tanya Wexler, and talks with Foley had not yet begun. On November 12, 2015, TheWrap confirmed that Foley would direct both sequels, which would be shot back-to-back in 2016, with Michael De Luca and Brunetti returning
Fifty Shades (film series) for the sequels. On February 5, Bella Heathcote was cast as Leila, one of Grey's former submissives. In the same month, Eric Johnson was cast to play Jack Hyde, Ana's boss at SIP. On February 18, 2016, Robinne Lee and Fay Masterson joined the film's cast. On February 20, Brant Daugherty signed on to play Luke Sawyer, the personal bodyguard for Anastasia in the third film. For "Fifty Shades of Grey", principal photography was filmed in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, which began on December 1, 2013. Scenes were filmed in the Gastown district of Vancouver. Bentall 5 was used as