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“Fifty Shades of Grey” fans are anxiously waiting to see photographs of the cast filming the “Fifty Shades Darker” sequel. Above, a moviegoer poses in front of the “Fifty Shades” movie poster on its opening day in Los Angeles Feb. 12, 2015. Getty Images

The “Fifty Shades of Grey” cast and crew is back in action. Just days after announcing Oscar-winning actress Kim Basinger would be joining the film franchise for the highly anticipated sequel, “Fifty Shades Darker,” it appears erotica author E.L. James is prepping for the series’ follow-up in 2017.

Sunday, James revealed she was in Vancouver, British Columbia, where “Fifty Shades Darker” is to be shot. “Hello Vancouver,” the 52-year-old author captioned a photograph of the city’s skyline. As of Monday morning, the image had received more than 17,000 likes.

While leads Dakota Johnson and Jamie Dornan, who play Ana Steele and Christian Grey, respectively, haven’t announced the beginning of filming, plenty of fans claim to have spotted them out and about in Vancouver in recent days. Despite there being no candid photos of the pair released, superfans have taken to Twitter to express their excitement over their rumored arrival.

Johnson, whose character will continue her love affair with billionaire Christian Grey in the sequel incorporating bondage, dominance, sadism and masochism, recently teased about what moviegoers should expect from “Darker,” which is based on the second book in James’ “Fifty Shades of Grey” series. While promoting her soon-to-be-released comedy, “How to Be Single,” Johnson told Access Hollywood the second film will stay true to its name.

“I think it’s going to be exciting and interesting to go back and develop characters further,” she said. “The story is sort of like a thriller now, and it gets kinda scary, and it’s awesome.”

Last month, the BC District Council of the Directors Guild of Canada revealed that “Further Adventure of Max & Banks 2 & 3,” which is similar to the “Fifty Shades of Grey” working title, is scheduled to begin filming in February. “Fifty Shades Darker” and “Fifty Shades Freed,” the third movie in the series, are set to shoot back-to-back with February 2017 and February 2018 release dates.

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