Change can be good, but in this case, it could be scary for fans of the Fifty Shades Of Grey series. The Director of the first film, Sam Taylor-Johnson, has announced that she will not be returning to direct the sequel. Apparently, it was due to creative differences between her and E.L. James.
Releasing a statement to Deadline.com, Sam broke the news, and wished the cast and production good luck for the next film.
“Directing Fifty Shades Of Grey has been an intense and incredible journey for which I am hugely grateful,” she began. “I have Universal to thank for that. I forged close and lasting relationships with the cast, producers and crew and most especially Dakota and Jamie. While I will not be returning to direct the sequels, I wish nothing but success to whoever takes on the exciting challenges of films two and three.”
Sam Taylor-Johnson is leaving the franchise for good (Lexi Jones/WENN.com)
Of course, it's natural for people to wonder exactly why Sam is leaving, and thankfully she hasn't left us hanging. She did previously admit that it was incredibly difficult working with author E.L. James and that the two would often have arguments. Speaking to Porter Magazine in February, she admitted the two had creative differences.
“It was difficult, I'm not going to lie," she said at the time. "We definitely fought, but they were creative fights and we would resolve them. We would have proper on-set barneys, and I'm not confrontational, but it was about finding a way between the two of us, satisfying her vision of what she'd written as well as my need to visualize this person on screen, but, you know, we got there."
Sam was all smiles at the film premiere regardless of what happened on set (Lia Toby/WENN.com)
There is no word on who will take over for Sam; however, the second film will likely be success no matter who takes over. The first film in the series took home a whopping $558 million worldwide.
With dedication like that from fans, E.L. James has nothing to worry about in regards to the sequel being a hit in theaters.
Whether or not the film will creatively look as good as the first film…well, that's a whole other story.
Either way, we can't wait for the second film, which is slated for release in 2017.
