The film adaptation of the hit erotic novel "Fifty Shades of Grey" will be written by Kelly Marcel, Universal Pictures and Focus Features said Monday.
Marcel's previous credits include the 2011 Black List script "Saving Mr. Banks," about Walt Disney's decades-long pursuit to obtain the film rights to the P.L. Travers book "Mary Poppins." That project is currently in production at Walt Disney Studios, with Tom Hanks, Emma Thompson and Colin Farrell starring.
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Marcel also co-created and wrote the pilot for the short-lived Fox dinosaur drama "Terra Nova."
“Kelly’s work demonstrates her flawless structural technique and passionate commitment to emotion, humor and depth of character which is particularly visible in the celebrated screenplay for the upcoming Saving Mr. Banks,” the film's producer, Michael De Luca, said.
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“We were all taken with the depth and passion of Kelly’s engagement with the characters and world E L James has created, and we knew she was the right person to augment our Fifty Shades family,” fellow producer Dana Brunetti added.
The novel revolves around the relationship between 27-year-old billionaire Christian Grey and college student Anastasia Steele. Universal and Focus acquired the rights to the book and its sequels, "Fifty Shades Darker" and "Fifty Shades Freed," in March.
The "Fifty Shades" trilogy has sold more than 32 million copies and has been translated into 45 languages worldwide.