The husband of Fifty Shades of Grey writer EL James, Niall Leonard, will pen the screenplay for the movie sequel Fifty Shades Darker, it has emerged.
Information about the follow-up to the hit movie has been thin on the ground after director Sam Taylor Johnson left the project over creative differences, and the latest news has prompted some commentators to predict a "train wreck".
Fifty Shades Darker will be Leonard's first major studio film script, though he is an established television writer in the UK. His credits include Wild at Heart and Wire in the Blood.
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He also reportedly contributed to the script for the first Fifty Shades movie, though he is uncredited. The Hollywood Reporter says that rumours have been circulating that James herself wanted to write the screenplay, but having her husband work on it may be "a happy compromise".
James, whose real name is Erika Leonard, is said to have retained extensive creative control when it comes to Universal's adaptations of her books.
On the first film, she clashed with director Sam Taylor-Johnson about many aspects of the film, including the ending. Neither Taylor-Johnson nor screenwriter Kelly Marcel are returning for the sequel.
Commentators have sensed blood in the water, suggesting that the announcement spells trouble for the production.
"How Do You Solve a Problem Like Erika?" asks an article by Ann Thompson on IndieWire. The answer, apparently: hire her husband.
From the beginning Universal Studios gave James control, says Thompson, and "while they got a $567 million global grosser out of that deal, finally they have to deal with a writer with a lot of power".
"Next up," Thompson adds, "finding a director who can handle intimate sex scenes and work cooperatively with James."
Ellie Shechet, writing for Jezebel, suggest that cast members may be perturbed by the developments.
"If you listen closely, you can hear Dakota Johnson screaming into her Cobb salad," she says. "This is going to be an absolute train wreck, and I am deeply pleased."
Other commentators speculated as to how the James had managed to extract concessions from the studio.
"Somewhere in the basement at Universal Studios is a red room where EL James ties down the executives," says Michael K on D-Listed. She electrocutes their nipples and whispers in their ears, "You WILL hire my husband to write the next Fifty Shades movie."
And, he says, she's not finished yet. "Jamie Dornan and Dakota Johnson will eventually check out of that train wreck, then EL James and Niall Leonard will be announced as their replacements."
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