Just weeks after being cast as Christian Grey, English actor Charlie Hunnam has quit the role.

The official statement from Universal regarding the development 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."

Hunnam is the main character in FX's "Sons of Anarchy" which is already in its sixth season.

The choice of Charlie Hunnam was announced in August and it was subjected to mixed reactions, mostly negative. It was the end of an almost year-long speculation game for fans of the book, until author EL James tweeted the final cast choices. The role of Christian Grey's love interest Anastacia Steele went to Dakota Johnson.

While the fact that Hunnam left is now a fact, what is left to speculation is the real reason why he would quit on such a coveted role. From Hollywoodlife.com:".. an industry source tells HollywoodLife.com exclusively that that's all just smoke and mirrors. "Charlie got cold feet," the source plainly states. "He wanted to get out of the movie because he was feeling like it would be his version of Showgirls and he didn't want to be remembered for that. Nor is Charlie ready for the celebrity he would receive if the movie worked out," the source reveals. "Add that with the studio execs being highly disappointed by the reaction to the casting, they wanted to start over with a clean slate.""

So the negative tweets and comments, perhaps even the online petitions did get to Charlie, and/or the producers. We can't say the same for Ben Affleck, though.

While there were some who were disappointed with the decision, many fangirls have quickly moved on. The search for the new Christian Grey is ignited again. Prior to Charlie Hunnam's selection, the leading candidates were Ian Somerhalder (The Vampire Diaries) and Matt Bomer (White Collar). Their names will come into play again, but we can't discount the possibility of new candidates.

Who should play Christian Grey?