The first teaser trailer for Fifty Shades of Grey followup Fifty Shades Darker has been leaked onto the web, a full 21 months prior to the new film’s February 2017 release date.
The 30-second trailer shows Jamie Dornan’s kinky business magnate Christian Grey pulling on a mask to a backdrop of doom-laden piano, and asks potential viewers: “Are you ready for something … darker?”
The shot references a scene from EL James’s original novel in which Grey’s paramour Anastasia Steele attends a masquerade at the home of her beau’s adoptive parents, Dr Grace Trevelyan-Grey and Carrick Grey.
The teaser appears to have been uploaded from the Blu-Ray release of Fifty Shades of Grey, the erotic romance which took the global box office by storm earlier this year with $569m in receipts.
Fifty Shades Darker is expected to be the second of three films based on James’s bestselling novels. It will be written by the British author’s television screenwriter husband, Niall Leonard, best known for episodes of Ballykissangel. No director has yet been announced for the sequel, but Sam Taylor-Johnson will not be returning after reports of on-set clashes with James.
The sequel sees the relationship between Christian and Anastasia deepening after their breakup at the end of Fifty Shades of Grey. It introduces the character of Elena Lincoln, Christian’s older business partner and sometime lover.
Reports suggest that stars Dakota Johnson (Steele) and Dornan have been negotiating higher salaries for the second film after picking up just $250,000 each for Fifty Shades of Grey.
