E. L. James
'Fifty Shades of Grey' will be released on August 1, 2014.
Movie studios Universal and Focus Features have confirmed the highly anticipated film adaptation of E.L. James' best-selling erotic novel will hit the big screen next year.
Focus Features revealed the news on Twitter, writing: "#FiftyShadesofGrey is now a shade closer (sic)"
The tweet then linked to an image, which reads: "CHARLIE TANGO. You are cleared for landing. August 1, 2014."
The news comes a week after Sam Taylor-Johnson was named as the film's director.
She said in a statement: "For the legions of fans, I want to say that I will honour the power of Erika's book and the characters of Christian and Anastasia. They are under my skin too."
The film's lead characters Anastasia Steele and Christian Grey are yet to be cast, although many actors have been rumoured to be in the running for the roles.
Emma Watson, Mila Kunis, Alexis Bledel and Kristen Stewart have been touted to play virginal graduate Anastasia, who embarks on a raunchy sexual relationship with her S&M-loving boss Christian Grey.
Meanwhile, Alex Pettyfer, Ian Somerhalder and Henry Cavill have been named as potential candidates to play the millionaire businessman.
'Fifty Shades of Grey' became a literary phenomenon in 2012, with the book trilogy selling 60 million copies around the world.
Tagged in Christian Grey Anastasia Steele Sam Taylor-Johnson