'Fifty Shades Darker' movie cast, release date & news update: Dakota Johnson 'excited' for sequel film

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If you're a fan of the Fifty Shades' franchise, you're most likely anxious for the filming of the highly anticipated sequel, "Fifty Shades Darker." Variety reports that James Foley, who was Universal's first choice for directing the film following Sam Taylor-Johnson's departure from the project, was in talks to close the deal. Dakota Johnson and Jamie Dornan are set to reprise their roles, while author E.L. James' husband, Niall Leonard, will write the script. James, Micael De Luca and Dana Brunetti will produce the film.

According to Variety, production is set to begin early 2016, with a target release of February 14, 2017. Empire reports that Foley has signed on, and according to Johnson, who plays Anastasia Steele, working with the new director is "quite exciting."

Johnson said: "There was a moment of being afraid, because I didn’t know what it was going to be like. I had an experience with Sam [Taylor-Johnson] and then that all went away. Now I’m excited. I think James is a talented filmmaker. How often do you get to reconvene with the same people and have a different spin?"

She also admitted that she has already met Foley, whose credits include "After Dark," "My Sweet," "At Close Range," "Fear," "Glengarry Glen Ross," and "Reckless." When probed more about how his style will differ from Taylor-Johnson's, she said: "You’ll just have to see when the movie comes out."

Foley, who is also credited for the hit Netflix series "House of Cards," visited the John Hopkins University in 2013 to share his thoughts on filmmaking, saying that one must have the "ability to talk [about] a visual idea that you have in a verbal way" when communicating with other people in the industry.

Foley said: "You've got to be able to wow them with a verbal presentation of your vision, to be able to verbalize your idea and your passion."

He also spoke of the role that the director plays in the production. He said: "A movie star is only a movie star with an audience to reflect that [fame] back to them. [A] lot of directing is being able to engender emotional truths out of actors. The director is trying to get moments that are psychologically realistic."

Foley spoke about working on House of Cards to the Director's Guild of America, saying, "I feel like my directorial brain expanded from doing this process. It has reawakened my sense of discovery."