Jamie Dornan Officially Replaces Charlie Hunnam in 'Fifty Shades of Grey'

In the wake of Charlie Hunnam unceremoniously dropping out of Fifty Shades of Grey, for reasons that vary depending on who you ask, Universal and Focus Features have been scrambling to find his replacement. With filming set to begin in just a few weeks they didn't have time to completely start from scratch, and so a list of old and new candidates emerged. On that list from the very beginning, and deemed to be the frontrunner shortly thereafter was Once Upon a Time star, Jamie Dornan, and it appears he has now won the job.

Dornan, who also had a small role in Sofia Coppola's Marie Antoinette  and starred in the BBC's The Fall, will take on the role of rich BDSM fanatic Christian Grey. He'll join co-star Dakota Johnson who plays the sexually inexperienced Anastasia Steele, and apparently it was there hot screen test together that convinced producers and director Sam Taylor-Johnson he was the perfect choice. Presumably he also looks good with his shirt off since the New York Times nicknamed the former model "The Golden Torso". Jennifer Ehle remains on board as Steele's mother, and it's possible those scenes will be the first to be filmed.

Well, the long national nightmare is finally over. Fifty Shades of Grey is expected to open on August 1st 2014.  [TheWrap]