After "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies," Bella Heathcote has been tapped to play a key role in the second installment of the "Fifty Shades of Grey" movie franchise. The Australian actress will join the cast of "Fifty Shades Darker" as Leila Williams, one of Christian Grey's ex-lovers.
"Fifty Shades Darker" will introduce new characters, most of them being Christian Grey's past lady loves. Leila is described as a mentally deranged woman who was previously one of Christian's submissives. In "Fifty Shades Darker," Leila stalks Anastasia Steele and causes Ana trouble and threatens her life.
According to Refinery 29, Bella Heathcote previously starred in Tim Burton's "Dark Shadows" as Victoria Winters. She also portrays the role of Jane Bennett in "Pride and Prejudice and Zombie," the swashbuckling twist to the Jane Austen classic, which is currently in theaters.
Bella Heatcote's casting was announced just days after Academy Award-winning actress Kim Basinger was confirmed to take part in the movie as Elena Lincoln.
Elena Lincoln is Christian's business partner and former lover, Variety noted. Basinger's Elena Lincoln was mentioned in "Fifty Shades of Grey," which set the stage for her appearance in the second movie.
Jamie Dornan and Dakota Johnson will reprise their roles as Christian Grey and Anastasia Steele, respectively. James Foley will be directing "Fifty Shades Darker" and "Fifty Shades Freed," as noted by Variety. Universal is reportedly planning to have both films shot back to back, with "Darker" prepping up for a Feb. 10, 2017 release.
Deadline reported Friday that Michael De Luca, Dana Brunetti and Marcus Viscidi has signed up to produce the film.
"Fifty Shades of Grey" grossed a total of $560 million worldwide. The Weeknd's "Earned It," the movie's main anthem, is currently nominated in the Academy Awards under the "Original Song" category.
"Earned It" already bagged three nominations in the Grammys, namely Best Compilation for Visual Media, Best R&B Song and Best R&B Performance.
