'Fifty Shades Darker' Casts Elena Lincoln: Kim Basinger Goes '9½ Weeks' on Christian Grey!

Kim Basinger, who 30 years ago became an international superstar in the erotic drama 9½ Weeks, is back in sexy movies, finding a role in the Fifty Shades of Grey sequel, Fifty Shades Darker. The Oscar winner has joined the cast as Elena Lincoln, the woman who teaches Jamie Dornan's Christian Grey all about the BDSM lifestyle as the character's lover!

According to both Variety and Entertainment Weekly, Basinger is the first new addition to the cast of the erotic sequel, after the first film of the planned trilogy became a box office smash last year, when the film took $560 million globally. She'll be taking the role of Christian Grey's business partner, former lover and the person who introduced him to BDSM. Considering Basinger made international fame in 1986 in a film that also depicts BDSM-like relationships, she seems like a perfect casting choice.

While the character obviously didn't appear in the franchise's first installment, Lincoln's presence was hinted ahead of her big appearance in the upcoming movie.

Production for Fifty Shades Darker will begin in the spring. It seems Universal will be shooting the film back-to-back with the third part of the saga, Fifty Shades Freed. Because of this, they're currently focusing on bringing in all the rest of the characters from E.L. James' saga, to shoot their parts this year.

The two remaining films of the trilogy will be directed by James Foley (who directed Basinger's ex, Alec Baldwin, in Glengarry Glenn Rose). Foley had to be hired in a hurry, after the first film's director, Sam Taylor-Johnson, announced last year she'd be stepping down. The screenplays for the next two installments is being written by Niall Leonard, husband of the original author.

Though there have been numerous rumors of delays in production for Fifty Shades Darker, the film's release date has been scheduled for earl 2017, specifically aiming for a February 10 date.