James Foley has been in news for quite a while now owing to his stint as the director of the upcoming flick “Fifty Shades Darker,” which is the sequel to one of this year’s biggest hits “Fifty Shades of Grey.”

Producer Dana Brunetti has now explained the decision to replace Sam Taylor-Johnson with Foley. “James’ thoughts on the first movie and where he saw the continuation going really blew us away,” Forbes quoted Brunetti, who was in Sydney to address Screen Producers Australia’s annual conference.

“His work on House of Cards and his previous feature films speak for themselves. He is a talented filmmaker and a great addition to the team,” Brunetti added. Brunetti is the co-producer of the trilogy along with Michael De Luca and author E.L. James.

The 2007 film “Perfect Stranger” was the first last flick helmed by Foley. Thus, bringing him on board as the director of “Fifty Shades Darker” was totally unexpected. In addition to “Perfect Stranger,” Foley has also helmed “Who’s That Girl” (1987), "Glengarry Glen Ross” (1992), “Fear” (1996) and “Confidence” (2003).

Additionally, Foley will also be directing the third part of the Fifty Shades trilogy titled “Fifty Shades Freed.” The shooting for “Fifty Shades Darker” will start in December and is slated to be released on Feb. 9, 2018. Foley’s ability to work nonstop was another factor that worked for him and helped him bag the project.

However, the speculations regarding star cast of “Fifty Shades Darker” continue to emerge. While, the lead pair Jamie Dornan and Johnson Dakota will reprise their roles of Christian Grey and Anastasia "Ana" Steele respectively, some new faces will be brought on board, including model Cara Delevingne.

It was in September that Dakota Johnson confirmed that Foley will helm the second part of the trilogy. Johnson also confessed that she was afraid on learning that Sam Taylor-Johnson will no longer direct the second and third parts.

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