‘Fifty Shades Darker’ Production Delayed Further, Plus Dakota Johnson Reveals She Went To Rehab For Drug Abuse

Although Fifty Shades Darker seemed to be back on track following the hiring of director James Foley, the film has once again been delayed. According to News Everyday, producers have fallen behind in their production schedule due to issues in casting. In fact, with filming expected to begin in a few months, the studio has yet to even hire a casting director.

“We’re nowhere near casting. We haven’t gotten into anything like that,” Dana Brunetti recently stated. “We don’t even have a casting director on it yet.”

With the movie being based on the second book in the series by E.L. James, there are a number of new characters who will be introduced. These new faces include Elena Lincoln, who also goes by Mrs. Robinson, Jack Hyde, and Leila Williams. Although these characters are not the main focus in the movie, they are pivotal to the storyline.

While numerous actors have been mentioned as being candidates for the roles, including Theo James, Ian Somerhalder, Cara Delevigne, Charlize Theron, and Alexis Bledel, nothing official has been announced on the matter.

In addition to the problems and delays in casting, another possible issue revolves around Jamie Dornan and his level of nudity in the film. Recent rumors indicate that Dornan was offered a good deal of money, around $1 million, in order to appear fully nude in the movie.

This full frontal rumor has been circulating after some fans expressed their disappointment in the level of sex included in the first film, Fifty Shades of Grey. After all, the film is based on a highly erotic novel and was expected to be just as illicit in nature. With producers expected to ramp up the amount of sexual content in the sequel, it is possible this could include some kind of full frontal scene with Dornan.

That being said, Dornan has not confirmed or denied the reports that he will showing off everything in the movie. With all the rumors surrounding his wife’s disapproval with his role in the movie, it doesn’t seem likely that he would agree to it. Furthermore, any sort of full frontal means that the film would need to have an increase in rating in order to be released in theaters, which might hurt the movie’s overall success in the box office.

Meanwhile, Dakota Johnson will be starring alongside Dornan and reprising her role in the erotic drama as Anastasia Steele. With the actress recently turning 26, Fashion & Style revealed that the Hollywood star once had to go to rehab after being constantly bullied in school.

According to Johnson, her fellow classmates bullied her because her parents were well-known celebrities. Things got so bad for Johnson that she turned to drugs in order to deal with all the stress in her life. Eventually, after her drug abuse worsened, she was forced to go to rehab to deal with her drug habit, and she was able to move past it.

Luckily, Johnson’s past history with drug abuse hasn’t had an impact on her current body of work. Along with her part in the hit Fifty Shades of Grey franchise, Johnson has also appeared in the TV series Ben & Kate for a total of 16 episodes. Additionally, Johnson can currently be seen in her newest film, Black Mass. Johnson stars alongside Johnny Depp, Benedict Cumberbatch, Joel Edgerton, and Kevin Bacon in the film.

While producers continue to iron things out and attempt to get Fifty Shades Darker back on production schedule, fans can at least rest assured that Dornan and Johnson are still on board with the project.

Fifty Shades Darker is set to premiere in theaters everywhere on February 10, 2017.

[Lead Image Courtesy: Universal]