casting cuts

Charlie Hunnam Won’t Star in 50 Shades of Grey After All

Don’t goooo.

Crushing news from the set of 50 Shades of Grey: Leading man Charlie Hunnam has dropped out of playing BDSM enthusiast Christian Grey in the big screen adaptation of the wildly popular book because he couldn’t reconcile the film’s shooting schedule with Sons of Anarchy’s. (The FX show began shooting its sixth season finale yesterday.) On Twitter, 50 Shades author E.L. James — who is acting as a producer for the movie — wished Hunnam “all the best. x.

Earlier this week, Entertainment Weekly wrote of Hunnam speaking “humbly about starring opposite Dakota Johnson” and quoted him saying, “There are so many fans of that book and I know that on the surface, I’m probably not what everybody imagined.” According to a Saturday afternoon studio announcement, the producers’ solution to Hunnam’s departure is to “find another male lead,” so let the aforementioned imagining begin anew!

Charlie Hunnam Quits 50 Shades of Grey Film