Fifty Shades Darker Lands Basinger, Nears Production Start

Production on the first sequel to last year's Fifty Shades of Grey, Fifty Shades Darker, will begin later this month, with most of the shooting taking place in Vancouver. The production will also spend a few days shooting in Paris later in the year. In the meantime, the project has cast Kim Basinger to play Elena Lincoln, Christian Grey's former lover and dominatrix.

Basinger is no stranger to the kinky themes of the Fifty Shades franchise, having had her breakthrough role in the dominance-submission story 9 1/2 Weeks back in 1986. Her role in Fifty Shades will come at the subject from a different angle, though; in 9 1/2 Weeks, Basinger's character was on the submissive side of the power dynamic, but in Fifty Shades, she'll portray the dominant business woman who introduced Christian Grey to his kinky side.

Fifty Shades Darker is scheduled for release around Valentine's Day in 2017, exactly two years after the release of Fifty Shades of Grey. The new film will include the stars of the first film, with Jamie Doornan in the role of Christian Grey and Dakota Johnson playing Anastasia Steele. Both films are based on the bestselling novels written by E.L. James.