Bella Heathcote To Play Christian Grey’s Ex-Lover In 50 Shades Darker

The next Fifty Shades of Grey movie has cast a very key role. On Friday, The Hollywood Reporter announced that Bella Heathcote will play Leila in the second installment of the trilogy, Fifty Shades Darker. The character is one of Christian Grey’s ex-lovers, an emotionally damaged woman who features prominently in the franchise’s second film. The casting announcement comes a few days after Kim Basinger was announced to play another ex, nicknamed “Mrs. Robinson.” Heathcote previously played Victoria Winters in Tim Burton’s adaption of Dark Shadows. She is also appearing as Jane Bennet in the adaption of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, which was released in the United States on Friday. Production on Fifty Shades Darker will begin in Canada on February 9, the International Business Times reports. It will shoot back-to-back with the third film in the series, Fifty Shades Freed. The films are scheduled to be released in 2017 and 2018, respectively.