'Fifty Shades Darker' Teaser: Christian Grey Dons the Mask

How does Christian Grey get ready for the ball? By putting on a slightly sinister black mask. The Fifty Shades of Grey DVD and Blu-ray that’s hitting stores on May 8 already tempted fans with a photo from the upcoming sequel Fifty Shades Darker. Now we’re getting what’s reported to be an actual teaser video, which shows Christian putting the finishing touches on that tux and pulling the mask over his face as the color footage turns to black and white.   

Based on the best-selling erotic novel by E.L James, the blockbuster Fifty Shades of Grey stars Dakota Johnson as Anastasia Steele, the young college grad who falls for a billionaire S&M enthusiast played by Jamie Dornan. Much about the sequel, which is scheduled for release in February 2017, is still in flux: There’s been no official word on the director replacing the departing Sam Taylor-Johnson, although James’s husband, Niall Leonard, will write the script. Earlier this week, Universal Pictures chairman Donna Langley promised the sequel would be “more of a thriller,” which doesn’t necessarily explain the tense vibe of the teaser. In the novel Fifty Shades Darker, Christian and Ana attend a masquerade ball where they run into Christian’s older ex-lover. On second thought, that run-in will probably be tense enough.