If you've been following Fifty Shades Darker news and updates, you know one of the biggest mysteries surrounding the upcoming sequel is: Who will they get to direct the project after Sam Taylor-Johnson backed out? Knowing that a leader in this position can make or break a film, Dakota Johnson revealed her true feelings about a new director in an interview with Empire.
It sounds like Johnson, who along with Jamie Dornan has been connected to the project from the get-go, has been experiencing some of the same anxiety fans have felt wondering what changes EL James and company plan on making to the second film in the Grey trilogy. Of course, she has it 100,000 times worse: She developed a trusting relationship with Taylor-Johnson, who helped transform her into Anastasia Steele, and now the 25-year-old is going to have to find common ground with new director James Foley.
Here's what she had to say about the changes:
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?
Well, that's a refreshingly positive attitude if ever I heard one!
More from The Stir: Will rumored 'Fifty Shades Darker' Director Change the Feel of the Film?
Taylor-Johnson pretty much announced right away that she and James had creative differences and that she wouldn't be returning to work with her or her franchise again. According to the director, the novelist insisted on having complete creative control over the movies, which can't be satisfying for a director, who has his or her own ideas about how a film should flow.
In the meantime, several names have been floated as candidates to take over the sequel, but it wasn't until very recently that Foley was chosen as the new director. Foley has directed amazing films like Glengarry Glen Ross, as well as episodes of House of Cards and Wayward Pines, and is the perfect choice for Fifty Shades Darker. I'm sure it's going to take Johnson and the rest of the cast a little time to get used to a new leader, but I'm sure they are in good hands.
Image via Splash News