Here’s the thing about the Fifty Shades movies: For the most part, these films stick to their source material. And much like the second film in the franchise, Fifty Shades Freed was written by book author E.L. James’ husband, Niall Leonard, which roughly translates to: It remained very true to the book.
However, that’s not to say the film didn’t make some changes. Although we won’t be focusing on every minor change — What about Ana and Christian almost having sex in the ocean?! What happened to Christian’s nightmares? — we have outlined a number of the larger changes that took place. (Okay, fine, and we also care about some of the smaller ones.)
1. All those wedding changes
The film dives right into the wedding, and then rushes right past it. There are vows, there’s a bit of dancing, and then Christian and Ana are off on their whirlwind honeymoon. Christian doesn’t stop on his way out to dance with Grace’s mother, there’s no final “good luck” speech from José, and there’s no big goodbye between Ana and her parents. There’s simply no time — they gotta get to all the sex!
2. No mile high club
Okay, so this is a minor change … OR IS IT?! In the book, Ana and Christian waste no time spending their wedding night on an airplane. In the movie, they might do the same, but if they do, we don’t see it. The only plane action we get involves them toasting their love with some champagne while fully clothed.
3. No prenup talk
Remember how the prenup was such a topic of discussion in the book? In case you forgot, Christian is very, very, ridiculously rich. And yet, in the film, the only money talk is whenever he tells Ana that his stuff is THEIR stuff now. That plane? It’s yours too, girl!
4. All those other honeymoon changes
In the film, Christian and Ana’s honeymoon is summed up in a number of beautiful images: The two of them on a beach, the two of them on a boat, the two of them on a hillside overlooking a beach, etc. And then when someone sets a fire at Christian’s company, they rush home. In the book, however, we get a lot more detail about what goes on during the honeymoon. There’s the big fight that happens after Christian purposefully covers Ana in hickeys so that she won’t go topless on the beach again. And then after Christian finds out about the fire, they don’t rush home. Rather, he stays on the boat to do some work while Ana and Taylor head into town — she drives her own jet ski! — so that she can do a bit of shopping. Ultimately, she buys Christian a nice camera as a surprise.
5. Christian’s song of choice
One of the more awkward/hilarious moments of the film comes when Christian randomly breaks into song and starts singing Paul McCartney’s “Maybe I’m Amazed” when he takes Ana and the gang up to Aspen. In the book, however, he sings at a family dinner — the first one after they return from the honeymoon — and his song of choice is a bit different. He sings “Wherever You Will Go.”
6. The car chase
When it comes to the big car chase sequence, there are two minor changes. In the book, Ana drives home from the aforementioned family dinner, not from meeting Gia at their new house. Also in the book, she breaks down in tears after the car chase (but before the car sex). So yeah, the sex still happens, but she takes a moment to emote first.
7. No TV bonding
In the book, Ana and Christian get to know each other better by having sex while watching TV — mainly The X-Files — and talking about life. For example, sitting in front of a TV is the place where Christian reveals he’s never JUST made out with a girl, and she talks about her previous make-out partners, and he gets all possessive. Fun, right?!
8. No Grey Publishing
It’s made clear in the movie that Christian is Ana’s “boss’s boss’s boss,” but there’s no discussion of Christian’s ultimate plan for the company: In the book, he wants to rename it Grey Publishing and give it to Ana as a wedding present. Suddenly, Christian’s anger about Ana not wanting to change her name makes a bit more sense…
9. No love for Taylor and Mrs. Jones
Guess what! These two are a couple! You’d never know it from watching the movies, but Mrs. Jones and Taylor are an item. After all, they both spend so much time at Christian’s place, it’s kind of impossible not to be. Also missing from the film? Any mention of Taylor’s daughter. In the book, Ana seems very concerned with letting Taylor’s daughter come live with them and be with her father.
10. A lack of emails
This is a change not only from the book, but from the previous movies as well. The third and final film cuts way back on the email correspondence between Christian and Ana. I’m sure no one was bummed.
11. Jack’s arrest
Ana coming home to find an unconscious Jack had broken into her apartment is not nearly as exciting as Ana coming home to find Jack holding a knife to her throat, so you can imagine why the movie let him stay conscious for just a bit longer before Ana’s security team took him out.
