There came word in June 2012 that Angelina Jolie had—if there was any truth to the rumor at all— perhaps had an informal discussion about directing the movie, having made her feature directorial debut in 2011 with Land of Milk and Honey. And marriage brings its own challenges. Their passion for each other burns hotter and deeper than ever, but Ana’s defiant spirit continues to stir Christian’s darkest fears and tests his need for control. As old rivalries and resentments endanger them both, one misjudgment threatens to tear them apart.

To make everything as comfortable as possible for Johnson and Dornan during the sex scenes, Taylor-Johnson tried to downsize the crew in the room as much as possible. Jolie went with the adaptation of Unbroken—the beyond-inspiring story of Olympic athlete turned World War II pilot Louis Zamperini, who crashed, survived 47 days floating in a life raft and then survived a POW camp—for her follow-up project instead.Relive the sensuality, the romance, and the drama of Fifty Shades Freed through the thoughts, reflections, and dreams of Christian Grey. E L James revisits the world of Fifty Shades with a deeper and darker take on the love story that has enthralled millions of readers around the globe. And marriage brings its own challenges. Their passion for each other burns hotter and deeper than ever, but Ana's defiant spirit continues to stir Christian's darkest fears and tests his need for control. As old rivalries and resentments endanger them both, one misjudgment threatens to tear them apart. You are cordially invited to the wedding of the decade, when Christian Grey will make Anastasia Steele his wife. But is he really husband material? His dad is unsure, his brother wants to organize one helluva bachelor party, and his fiancée won't vow to obey… This is a very lengthy book and although there isn't anything I would have edited out, I did skim a bit at times just to get to the parts I have been waiting for, for so long now. James did a great job in relaying Christian's thoughts, hopes, dreams, and even some nightmares, and I feel as if this is the true love letter to her fans who will never get enough of this wonderfully frustrating yet wildly irresistible man.

Can Christian overcome the nightmares of his childhood and the torments of his youth, and save himself? And once he's discovered the truth of his origins, can he find forgiveness and accept Ana's unconditional love? Days later, he exited the project, officially due to a scheduling conflict but reportedly due to creative differences with the film's creative team, including Sam Taylor-Johnson, as well as second thoughts about whether it was the right career move for him. I didn't want [Dakota or Jamie] to have to come re-shoot those kinds of scenes," the director told Vanity Fair.For the naysayers, just keep in mind while reading that this is a fantasy. There are certainly many happily married real-life couples that meet and marry in record-breaking time, and there are likewise real-life billionaires who are entitled to their own happy stories. There are also people that are healed by the love of someone special in their life. But this doesn’t pretend to be more than a fantasy – a love story.

Just when it seems that their strength together will eclipse any obstacle, misfortune, malice, and fate conspire to make Ana's deepest fears turn to reality.

Freed: Fifty Shades Freed as Told by Christian, the third and final book in E. L. James' BDSM-themed trilogy that serves as a spinoff series for her Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy, now has a release date: June 1. The announcement about her sixth novel in the franchise was made Sunday, March 7, by Dominique Raccah, Publisher and CEO of Sourcebooks, on Sunday, March 7. She also told The Hollywood Reporter in 2015 that James "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." James said in an appearance on MSNBC that "people are going to butt heads, and that is exactly what happened." Gus Van Sant, who like Bret Easton Ellis pictured a more graphic, possibly NC-17 film, and Danish director Susanne Bier were the last two names on a shortlist that James and Focus Features had whittled down—but producer Michael De Luca had been a producer on a movie Sam Taylor-Johnson was going to do before it fell apart, and suggested she take a meeting about Fifty Shades. Opening up to the Sunday Times magazine in 2017, Taylor-Johnson said she didn't regret doing the film, per se, "because that would just finish me off. With the benefit of hindsight would I go through it again? Of course I wouldn't. I'd be mad."