Is Jamie Dornan Going To Bail On Fifty Shades Of Grey 2?

There has been a lot of talk about trouble swirling behind the scenes of the Fifty Shades of Grey franchise, and while this latest story should be taken with a boulder-sized grain of salt, it could spell troubling things for the future of the series. After all, being forced to recast the male lead for a sequel is never a good sign.

This extremely questionable rumor comes to us (via Mirror) from the Australian magazine NW, which has sources saying that Fifty Shades of Grey star Jamie Dornan is looking for a way out of his contract so that he won't have to appear in the upcoming sequel, Fifty Shades Darker. The publication's unnamed source claims that there are multiple reasons behind Dornan's reported negative feelings about the franchise, saying that the actor is "disillusioned with his experiences" following the theatrical release and negative reviews of Fifty Shades, and that his wife is unhappy with how women around the world perceive her husband.

While Fifty Shades of Grey has made a ton of money at the box office so far, pulling in over $400 million worldwide, things have not been going well since its initial Valentine's Day opening. The movie not only got negative reviews, but also a rather dismal C+ CinemaScore; and to make matters worse, its domestic box office numbers sank like a stone during its second week of release (dropping 73 percent). We have also been hearing reports that author E.L. James has been fighting for more creative control for Fifty Shades Darker, and that it looks like it will soon drive away director Sam Taylor-Johnson and screenwriter Kelly Marcel.

The silver lining in this story for Fifty Shades of Grey and Jamie Dornan fans is that this is very much a rumor, and at this time there is nothing more than hearsay going around about the actor bailing on Fifty Shades Darker. In fact, one Fifty Shades of Grey news Twitter feed is denying the stories about Dornan's potential departure:

While it's very much a long shot, if Jamie Dornan were to be replaced in the Fifty Shades of Grey franchise, who do you think would be a suitable replacement for him? Do you think that the series could survive the recasting? Tell us your thoughts in the comments below!

Eric Eisenberg is the Assistant Managing Editor at CinemaBlend. After graduating Boston University and earning a bachelor’s degree in journalism, he took a part-time job as a staff writer for CinemaBlend, and after six months was offered the opportunity to move to Los Angeles and take on a newly created West Coast Editor position. Over a decade later, he's continuing to advance his interests and expertise. In addition to conducting filmmaker interviews and contributing to the news and feature content of the site, Eric also oversees the Movie Reviews section, writes the the weekend box office report (published Sundays), and is the site's resident Stephen King expert. He has two King-related columns.