Hunnam Is No Longer Your Christian Grey

Holy crap! Seems the Fifty Shades of Grey adaptation has entered a very, very gray area. According to Deadline, Charlie Hunnam has left Fifty Shades of Grey , officially vacating his role as billionaire S&M purveyor, Christian Grey. The studio behind the adaptation of E.L. James' bestselling trilogy, Universal, released the following statement explaining Hunnam's exit: "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."

The news likely comes as a surprise to most fans anticipating the release, but it's not entirely unwelcome news — when Hunnam's role in the film was first announced, many cried foul about his involvement in the project. As for Hunnam's Sons of Anarchy co-stars? Well, turns out they were "howling" upon hearing the casting.

It all adds up to the question: What was the real reason for Hunnam's exit? Though scheduling is an essay excuse, Deadline's Mike Fleming notes, "all of this scheduling stuff has already been figured out." Here's guessing Hunnam finally realized the implications of a big-screen role in his skivvies — or perhaps he just finally read James' poorly written and conceived novel.

Either way, director Sam Taylor-Johnson will have to search for a new Christian Grey to star opposite Dakota Johnson's Anastasia Steele. Here's your chance, Ian Somerhalder!