Entertainment

Here's When 'Fifty Shades Darker' Will Arrive

by Kaitlin Reilly

April 24, 2015

Get all of your romantic dates and binge-watching Nicholas Sparks' movies out of your system next Valentine's Day, because Feb. 14 in 2017 and 2018 might involve a whole lot more S&M. According to Universal Pictures chair Donna Langley at CinemaCon Thursday, the Fifty Shades Of Grey sequels release dates have been made official, and they're just in time for Valentine's Day weekend in 2017 and 2018.

So, what are the specific release dates? Fifty Shades Darker will arrive Feb. 10, 2017, and Fifty Shades Freed will arrive Feb. 9, 2018. (Everyone take a moment to breathe a huge sigh of relief over the franchise not breaking up Fifty Shades Freed into two separate, cliffhanger-happy films, a la every other franchise) That's good news for fans, who have been anxiously awaiting news of the sequel... and bad news for anyone who hates waiting two years for anything.

Hard as it might be, fans are going to have to learn to love the pain, and enjoy the building tension. The two year gap isn't easy, but that doesn't mean that fans can't have some fun waiting for the film's first sequel.

Here's what fans can do to pass the agonizing years between Fifty Shades Of Grey and Fifty Shades Darker.

Get The DVD

The Fifty Shades Of Grey DVD hits shelves May 8, and promises plenty of steamy deleted scenes and other fun bonuses. Grab a bottle of red and watch it with a few pals... or put in headphones and watch it alone on your laptop. (The wine is not optional.)

Read E.L. James' Original Fan Fiction

James scored her book deal after publishers became interested in her Twilight fanfiction piece, "Master Of The Universe." You can read excerpts from it here.

Throw A Fifty Shades Of Grey-Themed Party

No, not that kind of party. (Unless that's your thing, I guess?) Have everyone dress up in their favorite shade of grey and class up the place with themed cupcakes and drinks. What would the Anastasia Steele taste like? (Wink, wink.)