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
E. L. James me completely by surprise" she said. James has described the "Fifty Shades" trilogy as "my midlife crisis, writ large. All my fantasies in there, and that's it." She did not start to write until January 2009, as she revealed while still active on FanFiction.Net: "I started writing in January 2009 after I finished the Twilight saga, and I haven't stopped since. I discovered Fan Fiction in August 2009. Since then I have written my two fics and plan on doing at least one more. After that... who knows?" In August 2013, sales of the trilogy saw James top the "Forbes"