Universal Pictures has officially announced that Charlie Hunnam has pulled out of the Fifty Shades of Grey movie just over a month after he was cast as Christian Grey. Deadline.com confirms that the announcement was made yesterday, citing the Pacific Rim actor’s recurring role on FX’s TV show “Sons of Anarchy” as the main reason behind his withdrawal.

Universal’s statement said:

“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,”

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Charlie Hunnam is best known for his roles as Jackson “Jax” Teller in the FX series “Sons of Anarchy”, and Raleigh Becket in the film “Pacific Rim”

The Hollywood Reporter is saying that Hunnam pulled out of the film, claiming he “got cold feet about carrying such a high-profile project”.  Hunnam was never a favorite, especially after the announcement that he will co-star alongside Dakota Johnson. Grey fans are in outrage since the casting announcement was made, there is even a petition calling for the roles to be recast gathering more than 87,000 signatures.

The poor guy never stood a chance to start with, Grey fans are probably waiting to see who will be next in line with the mouse buttons ready to click away another petition. Producer Dana Brunetti received a post in which he was called an “idiot” for the castings, he responded to the rantings saying:

“There is a lot that goes into casting that isn’t just looks. Talent, availability, their desire to do it, chemistry with other actor, etc,”

“So if your favorite wasn’t cast, then it is most likely due to something on that list. Keep that in mind while hating and keep perspective.”

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The books dubbed by some news agencies as “Mommy Porn”, sold over 70 million copies worldwide

Brunetti will have his work cut out for him considering how difficult it was to find someone to fill the coveted role. Fans are more in favor of Matthew Bomer and Alexis Bledel to star in the movie based on the erotic romance novels.

There might be a production delay with the movie set to begin filming in November. The shocking news that Hunnam is out will definitely have producers frantically searching for a new Christian Grey. Who do you have in mind?