Throughout Hollywood history, there is a very long history of actors stepping into a role after a previous performer left it behind. In some cases, the transition is made pretty seamlessly while in others, it causes a lot of problems for everyone involved, especially fans of the films in question.
Even though millions of avid fans were chomping at the bit to see the “50 Shades” book series adapted into major movies, it was surprisingly hard to make that a reality. After all, early on Charlie Hunnam was hired to play Christian Grey on the big screen but he ultimately decided that it wasn’t the right move for him and he gave up the role.
Once Universal Pictures hired Jamie Dornan to star in their 50 Shades films, they likely thought he would thank his lucky stars and jump through hoops to continue in his new role. Instead, according to reports, Dornan nearly followed in the footsteps of Charlie Hunnam by leaving the 50 Shades film franchise in the rear-view mirror.
Shocking Success
In this day and age, there still are loads of people that would describe themselves as avid readers. For that reason, it makes a certain level of sense that more books have been released over the last several years than at any time in the past. After all, writers no longer need to convince a major publisher to believe in their work to release their stories since self-publication has become quite common.
Given the fact that so many books hit the markets each week and lots of people choose to watch things instead of reading, it has become exceedingly difficult for a book to find mainstream success. Despite that, when E.L. James’ book “50 Shades of Grey” was released in 2011, it didn’t take too long for it to become an absolute sensation. In fact, at the height of the 50 Shades fervor, it seemed like virtually everyone was talking about the books, either positively or negatively.
Booming Box Office
When the “50 Shades” books became so overwhelmingly popular, everyone who was familiar with how Hollywood works knew it wouldn’t take long for the series to leap to the big screen. Of course, just because the books were a hit doesn’t mean their movie adaptations would similarly be embraced by the series’ fans. After all, it was no secret that the books were very steamy and some studios would have balked at making movies with a similar tone.
While there is no doubt that the 50 Shades movies left out some of the steamy details that were present in the books, for the most part, they were in line with what fans wanted. For that reason, they were among the most talked-about movies in the world upon their release and they dominated at the box office as well.
Second Thoughts
When Jamie Dornan was chosen to star in the 50 Shades of Grey movie, to say it was a big deal would be a massive understatement. Sure, as it turns out, the paycheque that Dornan received for starring in the first 50 Shades movie was relatively weak for Hollywood but there was no doubt that it was a huge opportunity. After all, Dornan wound up making a fortune when he starred in the second and third 50 Shades films.
Amazingly enough, Jamie Dornan almost missed out on the massive amounts of money he was paid to star in Fifty Shades Darker and Fifty Shades Freed because he nearly quit the series. Given the fact that Dakota Johnson has spoken about how close she is to Dornan, it is amazing to think how disappointed she would have been if he had followed through on quitting the series. As for why Dornan reportedly nearly left 50 Shades behind at the peak of its popularity, it supposedly was because of his love for his wife.
When 50 Shades of Grey debuted on the big screen, millions of viewers became smitten with Jamie Dornan. According to the aforementioned reports, Dornan’s wife Amelia Warner understandably wasn’t comfortable with so many people lusting after her husband. Additionally, when Jamie Dornan became a big star and people began to care about his private life, it must have been a shock for him and his wife. Of course, Dornan ultimately continued starring in the 50 Shades franchise so it seems safe to assume that Warner accepted the situation.
Even though Jamie Dornan starred in the 50 Shades film trilogy, he has said that if they ever decided to make a sequel he would not be involved because he believes that he is “getting too old”. Of course, as of the time of this writing, there aren’t any plans for a fourth movie, and writer E.L. James hasn’t penned a story that could be turned into one. However, the 50 Shades movies made more than $1.3 billion at the box office which has got to make Universal Pictures want to keep the film franchise going.