CULTURE

The New Fifty Shades Darker Trailer Adds a Bit of Levity to All of That Emotional Turmoil

Ana and Christian give the domestic life a go.


50 shades darker.JPG
Universal Pictures

Imagine if you will, Anastasia Steele and Christian Grey’s relationship as a romantic comedy. Squabbling over the check, ogling each other’s bodies, secretive masquerade balls. You know, everyday things.

Fifty Shades Darker‘s latest expanded trailer starts off exactly that way, with Ana (Dakota Johnson) agreeing to give Christian (Jamie Dornan) a fresh shot at a relationship minus the whips and chains, one that has “no rules, no punishments, and no secrets.”

Well, hey, two out of three ain’t bad, as the couple is functioning pretty well minus the questionable power dynamics. Ana murmurs, “He’s changing,” because that is a sentiment that has reliably worked out well for women over time, and the couple even, gasp, jokes. Yes, everything seems swell — that is, until a mysterious woman from Christian’s past shows up, and by “shows up,” we mean creepily hovers over them while they are sleeping. Oh, and eventually totes a gun.

Ah well, the honeymoon can’t last forever.

The initially lighter look at the Fifty Shades of Grey sequel takes its breezy cue from its sound, as it’s scored to Taylor Swift and Zayn’s “I Don’t Wanna Live Forever,” swapping out Miguel’s cover of “Crazy in Love” from the first trailer. But, yikes, given the gun, the ominous threats, and a helicopter crash, living forever might not be Ana and Christian’s big problem.

Fifty Shades Darker comes to theaters to send your date some very mixed signals on Valentine’s Day. Get sucked back into its world with the trailer, below.