British actor Hugh Dancy (Martha Marcy May Marlene) has joined Fifty Shades Darker, the second installment in Universal’s adaptation of E.L. James’ massively successful erotic book franchise. Dancy joins the film as filming in already underway in Vancouver with Jamie Dornan and Dakota Johnson returning as star-crossed lovers Christian Grey and Anastasia Steele. James Foley (Glengarry Glen Ross) is picking up directing duties from Sam Taylor-Johnson, who helmed the first chapter, Fifty Shades of Grey.
Dancy will portray Dr. John Flynn, a British-born psychiatrist who takes Christian on as a patient after a former lover of his comes back into the picture. That lover would be Mrs. Elena Lincoln, the older woman who introduced the brooding billionaire onto the world of S&M. She’s dubbed with the nickname “Mrs. Robinson,” an ode of sorts to the iconic character Anne Bancroft portrayed in the classic movie The Graduate. Oscar winning actress Kim Basinger (L.A. Confidential) plays Lincoln. The ensemble cast in rounded out by Bella Heathcote (Dark Shadows), Tyler Hoechlin (Everybody Wants Some!!), Victor Rasuk (Raising Victor Vargas), Rita Ora (Southpaw) and Oscar winner Marcia Gay Harden (Pollock).
Fifty Shades Darker is filming concurrently with the franchise’s third volume, Fifty Shades Freed. Darker is slated to hit theaters on February 10, 2017. Freed will follow one year later on February 9, 2018. The first film was a massive success, netting over $500 million at the worldwide box office.
Dancy recently ended his run on the critically admired NBC thriller Hannibal and can currently be seen in the Hulu series The Path.
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