Pop culture came crashing down around our ears on Wednesday as first Top Gear lost Jeremy Clarkson, One Direction lost Zayn Malik and then Fifty Shades Of Grey lost Sam Taylor-Johnson.
Ok, so the director leaving the hit film’s sequel may not be on the level of anguish of Malik or Clarkson, but it leaves a gap in what looks like a hit franchise in the making. Taylor-Johnson announced her departure in a statement to Deadline.com on Wednesday night.
“Directing Fifty Shades of Grey has been an intense and incredible journey for which I am hugely grateful. I have Universal to thank for that. I forged close and lasting relationships with the cast, producers and crew and, most especially, with Dakota [Johnson] and Jamie [Dornan]. While I will not be returning to direct the sequels, I wish nothing but success to whosoever takes on the exciting challenges of films two and three.”
She does not mention Fifty Shades of Grey author E L James, with whom she clashed during production.
Taylor-Johnson told Vanity Fair she and James “battled all the way through”.
Fifty Shades of Grey has grossed more than $558 million (Dh2 billion) at the worldwide box office. Variety reports the film’s screenwriter Kelly Marcel is also making an exit from the sequel, Fifty Shades Darker, possibly to be replaced by James herself.
