'Fifty Shades of Grey' Movie News: Dakota Johnson and Jamie Dornan May Not Return for Sequel
Fans who have already watched "Fifty Shades of Grey" on the big screen may never see another installment of the erotic romance film treated the same way again.
The highly anticipated film may hit a major road block in the movie adaptation of the second part of E.L. James' three-part novel series "Fifty Shades of Grey" with the non-signing of its director, Sam Taylor-Johnson.
Even with the trilogy's first installment set to open with an anticipated $60 million or more box office windfall over the Valentine's Day weekend, insiders are now saying that even stars Dakota Johnson and Jamie Dornan may not return for a rematch.
Johnson and Dornan, who played Anastacia Steele and Christian Grey, respectively, in the sexy film, have reportedly pledged loyalty to the 47-year-old Taylor-Johnson and may not also agree to do a sequel despite having signed on for a three-picture deal.
"While Johnson and Dornan are booked for a three-peat, Taylor-Johnson, 47, only signed on for one film. So far, sources say there have been no discussions on her returning," the Holywood Reporter said, citing sources.
In a recent question-and-answer with The Hollywood Reporter, Taylor-Johnson admitted that she might not make a movie for awhile following the most anticipated release of "Fifty Shades."
"I'm in the headspace that I'm never making a movie again... Having had four children, I can say you can definitely equate it to the same feeling after you've just been through a long and difficult labor and someone asks you, 'You going to have another one?' There's definitely that feeling of 'Not right now, no," she said.
Sources with ties to the $40-million film said Taylor-Johnson, who directed the indie feature film "Nowehere Boy" in 2009, was striving to make a movie better than the expectation of its audiences.
Her approach won the backing of Johnson and Dornan, who "loved and embraced Sam and were on Sam's side 99 out of 100, if not 100 out of 100 times," said one source on the film.
Apparently, the incredibly vocal protective tendencies of British author James "pretty much in the whole process of everything" have taken their toll on Taylor-Johnson.
During the March 2012 auction for the red hot property, Universal gave James an unprecedented control over everything on the movie, including casting down to wardrobe.
"We'd often clash and have to find a way to work through that to get to some sort of resolution. She would be the first to say as well that it was not easy. It was not easy. But we got there. I think both of us felt it was an incredibly painful process," Taylor-Johnson said.
James' publicist and Universal declined comment. But in a Feb. 6 interview with MSNBC, James said the shoot "was hard in places," adding that "people are going to butt heads, and that is exactly what happened."
James is said to have pressed for more explicit sex, while Taylor-Johnson pushed for a more subtle approach.
Producer Michael De Luca, who won't be back for sequels as he joined Columbia in December 2013, previously said James saw herself as "the keeper of the flame" for her fans.