Over the weekend Universal announced that Charlie Hunnam was departing the Fifty Shades of Grey movie and the role of Christian Grey because of scheduling conflicts. Who will swoop in to save the day?

A statement by the movie studio and E.L. James said that Hunnam had to pull out because he didn’t have time to prepare for the role due to his Sons of Anarchy schedule. However, unnamed sources cited by The Hollywood Reporter say that he actually got cold feet about the project.

The decision by Hunnam is a smart one because the project could arguably put a stigma on the actor that may be bad for his career going forward. Not only would he have had the first movie, but Universal is looking to turn the other two books in the Fifty Shades series into a film. If they manage to pull off all three films, the actor will be typecast in a bondage role.

With Hunnam out, someone else will have to be cast as Christian Grey in the Fifty Shades movie. Universal will have to find someone willing to attach their name to a role that only attracts negative headlines. On the other hand, whoever gets the job will be pushed into the spotlight which could be helpful if they hope to become a household name.

Here are our A-list picks…

Kellan Lutz

He has the body and the Twilight connection. Lest we forget that Fifty Shades was originally a Twilight fan fiction, so a big part of the Twilight Saga audience would instantly become interested in seeing this fan fiction-turned-movie. His career is all about his body (he’s currently filming a role as Hercules and just wrapped a role as Tarzan), so what’s one more role all about his body?

Matt Bomer

The early choice since the day we learned that the book would be turned into a movie, Bomer’s name continued to be pushed by fans when fake articles on the internet claimed he had been cast. Now that people have imagined him in the role they can’t look back. Matt Bomer cast as Christian Grey would shake the world to its core, but this is one actor who probably doesn’t want to damage his well-established television career (he stars on USA Network’s White Collar which premieres this Thursday).

James Deen

The porn-star-turned-actor may actually be a decent candidate for the role because he knows the hard reality of sex on camera. He has the good looks, he’s used to showing off his body, and he doesn’t need to protect his name from being tarnished because he’s already been submerged in the porn industry. Deen made an attempt at going Hollywood when he nabbed the lead male role in the movie The Canyons co-starring Lindsay Lohan. The film flopped (surprise!), but Deen could try to redeem himself with this gig.

Ian Somerhalder

He’s got exactly the right combination of attractiveness and sassy personality to pull this off. The only way to make a movie like this work is to get an actor who has enough self-confidence and self-irony to go all in, no pun intended.

The actor has been asked about being cast before. “I think that’s going to be a very interesting story to tell…It seems like whoever plays that role, it will be very interesting rehearsal time…the audition process is gonna be interesting,” he said in an interview earlier this year. (source)

Max Greenfield

The New Girl star isn’t against the role. Or, he loves to joke about being cast. He said on a red carpet in September 2012 that being nude is “not the issue.” So what’s the problem with being cast as Christian? “It’s the issue of whether they wanna see that much intensity onscreen, because that’s what I plan to bring.”

Stephen Amell

Currently starring on The CW’s Arrow, Stephen has the ability to be sexy and mysterious. He is fit enough to be naked on screen and he knows how to wear a suit. The actor revealed earlier this year that he had auditioned for the role at one point. “That project is a long way off,” he said in March. “I know this, because I had a meeting about it. Long way off. I mean, not that long, but not close. I wouldn’t call it long, but I wouldn’t call it close.” So is it a long shot that he’s out now?

Who do you think ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ should cast for Christian Grey?

The film currently has a release date set for August 1, 2014, but Hunnam’s sudden departure may delay the film for months. The news is not good because the world is slowly forgetting about the book series that was the most popular of 2012. Dakota Johnson has the role of Anastasia Steele, and for now she’s still attached to the project.

Contributing writers: Andrew Sims, Selina Wilken, Jennifer Lamoureux.