‘Fifty Shades Darker’ Delayed Further? E.L. James Hints Filming Has Started Despite Rumors

More delays seem to be ahead for the second film in the hit erotic franchise, Fifty Shades Darker. With the series still behind in casting, it does not appear as though the movie will be able get back on schedule anytime soon. Add in the additional rumors of further delays and things are not looking good for the movie.

In fact, the second film in the franchise, Fifty Shades Darker, has been through a number delays in recent months as filmmakers try their best to stay on production schedule. In addition to early woes in finding a new director, which has since been solved with the hiring of James Foley, the film has yet to cast a number of key characters.

Despite the film’s multiple delays, E.L. James seems to be optimistic that everything will fall into place. With that in mind, the author recently hinted that the movie might be finally gearing up for production. In a post to her Instagram account, James uploaded a picture of herself posing alongside her husband and screenwriter Niall Leonard, and director James Foley.

“#FSD #FSF with James Foley @foleyfilm and Niall Leonard @noghar,” she wrote alongside the image.

James’ activity on social media seems to indicate that they are getting ready to start production for the next two films in the hit erotic franchise. However, these appear to be initial meetings rather than the beginnings of production, and the movie still has multiple roles to cast before they can even begin to start filming.

These new characters include the likes of Jack Hyde, Mrs. Robinson, Leila Williams, and John Flynn. With these characters still needing to be cast, producer Dana Brunetti recently revealed to E! News that they were not even close to hiring a casting director let alone selecting actors for the parts.

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

With so many roles still needing to be filled, it is doubtful that Fifty Shades Darker will begin production on its scheduled time, which is supposed to be in the coming months.

Meanwhile, with more delays on the horizon, producers are really going to have ramp things up in order to generate enough excitement once the film finally hits theaters. To that end, it is expected that Foley and company are planning on introducing more sex and nudity than was included in the first movie.

According to Movie Pilot, however, Jamie Dornan and Dakota Johnson may not be up for adding in even more BDSM moments. In fact, both shared that some of the scenes were a little awkward to film. While Johnson described them as “emotionally taxing,” Dornan went a step further in his analysis of his character.

“I had to do stuff to her that I’d never choose to do to a woman,” he stated.

That being said, many fans expressed their views that the first movie suffered from a lack of sex scenes and explicit content, which is what made the books so popular. In order bridge this gap between viewers, Foley is expected to clean up the dialog a bit and include more sex. Whether or not this delays the film even more, especially considering James’ reputation for being difficult to work with, is yet to be seen.

Hopefully, it won’t be long before casting for some of the crucial parts in the film begins. If that happens and further delays are prevented, then it is possible that the film might actually be ready for its anticipated release date.

Fifty Shades Darker is scheduled to appear in theaters on February 10, 2017.

[Lead Image Courtesy: Universal Pictures]