Sons of Anarchy star Charlie Hunnam has surprisingly stepped down from his commitment to star as Christian Grey in the upcoming cinematic adaptation of Fifty Shades of Grey. He had secured the role and was expected to appear in at least three films basd on the Fifty Shades of Grey book trilogy by author EL James.
The reasoning for Hunnam’s departure feels more like PR spin than the full story. Universal’s official statement released earlier today reads, “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.”
If Hunnam had scheduling conflicts with Sons of Anarchy then the odds are likely those would have been ironed out prior to him accepting the offer. Production on Sons of Anarchy is scheduled to conclude on October 21 with Fifty Shades of Grey going in front of cameras in early November.
More believable reasons for Hunnam’s exit would be he had second thoughts of dealing with the huge amount of media and fan attention the role was already sending his direction and would continue to for years to come. That, or Universal had second thoughts about Hunnam leading the franchise after that same fan base threw their arms up in disbelief that one of their favorites like Matt Bomer didn’t land the part.
Now the studio and director Sam Taylor-Johnson have to find a new Christian Grey that has the right chemistry with Dakota Johnson, already cast as the female lead Anastasia Steele. Since Universal has already gone through the casting process, they should have a short list of runner-ups to tap into and could announce a Hunnam replacement within a matter of days.
The first of at least three Fifty Shades of Grey films will be released on August 1, 2014 opposite Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy.
Source: THR
