Fifty Shades of Grey sequel lands House of Cards director

James Foley has officially been offered the reins to Fifty Shades Darker, Variety reports.

James, who is best known for helming dark drama flicks Fear in 1996 and Perfect Stranger in 2007, seems like a good fit for the more thriller-esque vibe of the Fifty Shades of Grey sequel.

But it was probably his directing stint on 12 episodes of Netflix drama House of Cards that scored him the role, since Fifty Shades producer Dana Brunetti also works on that TV series.

The filmmaker was shortlisted by Universal earlier this month alongside Hysteria director Tanya Wexler and Arlington Road's Mark Pellington.

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Fifty Shades of Grey director Sam Taylor-Johnson left the series after reportedly falling out with the book's author E.L. James and screenwriter Kelly Marcel.

E.L. James' husband and fellow author Niall Leonard will now script the raunchy sequel to the 2015 BDSM flick.

Dakota Johnson and Jamie Dornan are expected to reprise their roles as Christian Grey and Anastasia Steele in Fifty Shades Darker, set to hit Aussie cinemas in February 2017.