The film stars Dakota Johnson and Jamie Dornan as Anastasia Steele and Christian Grey, respectively, with Eric Johnson, Eloise Mumford, Bella Heathcote, Rita Ora, Luke Grimes, Victor Rasuk, Kim Basinger, and Marcia Gay Harden in supporting roles.

When the first film premiered at a special fan screening in New York City in February 2015, development on the sequels promptly began.

Jack tells Ana he expects her to accompany him on a New York book expo trip, but after speaking with Christian, she agrees not to go.

Prior to the Grey family's annual charity ball, Christian takes Ana to Esclava, a beauty salon owned by Elena Lincoln.

Back at work Ana is told she must attend an expo in New York with Jack causing some tension between her and Christian when he tells her she shouldn't go.

When Ana tells Jack she won't be attending the expo with him, he attempts to sexually assault her while they are alone at work, but she evades him and escapes.

As fireworks erupt in the sky, Jack Hyde watches the festivities from afar, silently swearing revenge against them.

[11] On April 2, 2015, Deadline confirmed that De Luca had left Sony Pictures to return to Universal to produce the Fifty Shades sequels.

[14] In April 2015, Universal Pictures chair Donna Langley told The Hollywood Reporter that the second installment would be "more of a thriller.

[16] On August 20, 2015, it was revealed by Deadline that James Foley was the front-runner to direct the sequel and third film Fifty Shades Freed, while the studio was also eyeing other directors, including Rebecca Thomas, Mark Pellington, and Tanya Wexler, and talks with Foley had not yet begun.

[17] On November 12, 2015, TheWrap confirmed that Foley would direct both sequels, which would be shot back-to-back in 2016, with Michael De Luca and Brunetti returning to produce, along with E. L.

[27][28] In November 2015, Universal Studios announced that the film and Freed would be shot back-to-back, with principal photography scheduled to commence in early 2016.

[29] Filming took place in Paris and Vancouver from February 9, 2016, to July 12, 2016, under the working title, "Further Adventures of Max and Banks 2 & 3.

The film's theme song, "I Don't Wanna Live Forever" by Zayn and Taylor Swift was released on December 9, 2016.

On September 15, 2016, Universal released the film's first official trailer, which amassed an unprecedented 114 million views in its first 24 hours, from various digital platforms such as Facebook, YouTube and Instagram.

This broke the previous record, held by Star Wars: The Force Awakens, when it received 112 million views in the same amount of time in October 2015.

[36] On November 10, 2016, the sequel was given an R rating by the MPAA for "strong erotic sexual content, some graphic nudity and language.

[54] Outside North America, the film was simultaneously released in 57 countries, and was expected to gross $115–155 million over its first three days.

The site's critical consensus reads, "Lacking enough chemistry heat or narrative friction to satisfy, the limp Fifty Shades Darker wants to be kinky but only serves as its own form of punishment.

[51] Richard Roeper gave the film two out of four stars, saying: "This is one good-looking, occasionally titillating, mostly soapy and dull snooze-fest.

"[59] Vince Mancini of Uproxx acknowledged the film's flaws, but said watching the film was enjoyable, noting, "Narrative sloppiness aside, as an outsider, sitting through Fifty Shades Darker was a reasonably diverting experience, odd, dumb fun made even more fun by an audience that whooped and shouted at the screen during sex scenes.

"[60] Manohla Dargis writing for The New York Times expressed similar ambiguous opinions regarding the content of the film, stating: I was still rooting for Ms. Johnson in Fifty Shades Darker, even if it proved tough going.

Once again, the story involves the on-and-off, tie-her-up, tie-her-down romance between Anastasia Steele (Ms. Johnson) and her billionaire boyfriend, Christian Grey (Jamie Dornan), a guy with sculptured muscles, expensive playthings and dreary issues.

Stuff and kink happens: A gun is fired, a would-be rapist is punished and Anastasia is bound hand and foot.

Mostly, she advances and retreats (repeat), mewls and moans, and registers surprise each time Christian tries to dominate her outside the bedroom, evincing the kind of stalkerlike behavior that usually leads to restraining orders.

[61] Richard Brody of The New Yorker described the film as inferior to the first, and found fault in the change in directors, stating: Some of the greatest Hollywood melodramas (such as Douglas Sirk's Magnificent Obsession) featured plotlines of an even more extravagant absurdity than that of Fifty Shades Darker.

The freedom of the current age of sexual explicitness invites realms of characterization—and of intimate imagination—that the first film in the Fifty Shades series hints at and the second one utterly ignores.