'Fifty Shades of Grey' finds its director: Sam Taylor-Johnson

The Fifty Shades of Grey movie just took a big step closer to becoming a reality: Sam Taylor-Johnson has signed on to direct the much-talked-about adaptation of E L James' best-selling book. Taylor-Johnson is best known for her directorial debut, 2009's Nowhere Boy, which starred her husband, Kick-Ass and Savages actor Aaron Johnson.

"I am excited to be charged with the evolution of Fifty Shades of Grey from page to screen," Taylor-Johnson said in a statement announcing her involvement. "For the legions of fans, I want to say that I will honor the power of Erika's book and the characters of Christian and Anastasia. They are under my skin too."

Since no casting has been announced yet for the potentially NC-17-rated movie, Taylor-Johnson's involvement has some speculating that her husband could sign on as mysterious billionaire Christian Grey. We know for sure that Emma Watson and Armie Hammer won't be playing the book trilogy's kinky couple …

Wednesday's announcement didn't include any information about a release date, but the film was originally slated for summer 2014.

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