The ‘Sons of Anarchy’ star is no longer chained to the
steamy role of Christian Grey, Universal Pictures announced in a statement.
Saturday, October 12, 2013, 3:48 PM
Tommaso Boddi/WireImage/WireImage
Charlie Hunnam has dropped out of the lead role in the
'Fifty Shades of Grey' film adaptation.
The search
for the perfect Christian Grey was thought over after "Sons of
Anarchy" star Charlie Hunnam was
picked to play the lead in the upcoming "Fifty Shades of Grey" film,
but now it appears Hunnam is out.
"The
filmmakers of 'Fifty Shades of Grey' and Charlie Hunnam have agreed to find
another male lead given Hunnam's immersive TV schedule which is not allowing
him time to adequately prepare for the role of Christian Grey," Universal
Pictures said in a statement, obtained by The Hollywood Reporter.
The
33-year-old actor was the second casting announcement for the steamy film
adaptation of E.L. James' erotic trilogy, after James took to Twitter revealing that Dakota Johnson would play
Anastasia Steele on September 2.
"The
gorgeous and talented Charlie Hunnam will be Christian Grey," she wrote.
Almost
immediately the actors and producers faced severe backlash from devoted readers, many
of which hoped for other stars like Robert Pattinson and Ryan Gosling to bring
the book fantasy to life.
Getty Images
Universal closed the trilogy deal with Hunnam, 33, and
his on-screen love, actress Dakota Johnson, 23, by Labor Day.
Some
superfans even went as far as creating and signing a petition to have Hunnam
and Johnson ousted — as seen in a Change.org effort that amassed over 80,000
signatures.
Despite the
hate, Hunnam appeared ready and willing to take on the role.
"As soon
as we got in the room and started reading with Dakota, I knew that I definitely
wanted to do it, because there was a tangible chemistry between us," the
British actor previously told THR.
"It
felt kind of exciting and fun and weird and compelling, and so that was
it."
SAUL LOEB/AFP/GettyImages/AFP/Getty Images
Fans of ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ will now have to recast
the lead role of Christian Grey.
But
according to reports, the British-born actor got "cold feet" about
the role and dropped out, contrary to the Universal statement.
"[Two]
sources now say Hunnam got cold feet on the [Fifty Shades] movie, TV schedule
said to have nothing to do with his exit," Matt Belloni, the magazine's
executive editor, tweeted Saturday.
A Daily News
request for comment from Hunnam's team has not yet been returned.
The film,
from "Nowhere Boy" director Sam Taylor-Johnson, was slated for an
August 2014 release. It is unclear whether or not the search for a new
Christian Grey will push back the release date.
On Saturday,
the book's author confirmed the news with a succinct tweet.
"I wish
Charlie all the best," James wrote.
0 comments :
Post a Comment