Uh-oh. There is a report circling around that Charlie Hunnam wants to quit the "Fifty Shades of Grey" role. E.L. James announced that Hunnam would be playing Christian Grey via Twitter on Labor Day. Almost immediacy there was an enormous amount of fan backlash over the casting decision.
Many fans felt the "Sons of Anarchy" star was completely wrong for the movie and demanded a recast. Over 84,000 people signed an online petition asking James and the rest of "Team 50" to recast Hunnam and Dakota Johnson (who will play Anastasia Steele) with fan-favorites Matt Bomer and Alexis Bledel.
Producers involved with the movie quickly defended the casting decision urging fans to calm down and give Hunnam and Johnson a chance. In the weeks following the decision the backlash has continued and it seems like Hunnam can't deal with it anymore.
According to Celebrity Dirty Laundry, the actor regrets signing on as Christian Grey and is trying to get out of his contract. Hopefully this rumor isn't true but in the three weeks since the lead couple was announced there has not been any other official news about the movie. No word on when filming will begin. No word on who will play Kate Kavanagh, Elliot Grey or any of the other roles. It seems like the movie has been at a standstill since the Labor Day announcement.
For a while it seemed like Hunnam was enjoying all the attention. He was photographed signing autographs and even did a few interviews about how his chemistry with Johnson was unmatched and would transfer well onto the big screen.
However, there were rumors circulating that he didn't really want to the role of the kinky billionaire at first. According to Variety, Hunnam initially turned down the role when producers approached him because he didn't want to commit to doing a trilogy.
After rethinking it he reportedly approached producers telling them that he did want to play the lead role. It was also rumored that he wouldn't sign on until he knew who would be playing Steele and once he did a chemistry test with Johnson he jumped onboard.
Do you think Charlie Hunnam wants to quit "Fifty Shades of Grey"? What would happen to the movie if he does? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.
