Jamie Dornan and wife Amelia Warner. Photo / AP
The Fifty Shades Of Grey franchise has been dealt a major blow following claims that leading man Jamie Dornan will not be reprising his role as Christian Grey.
The Irish actor was expected to return as the enigmatic corporate executive in Fifty Shades Darker and Fifty Shades Freed, parts two and three in the hugely successful trilogy by British novelist E.L James.
But according to Australian magazine NW Dornan, 32, has reportedly walked away from the plum role because wife of two-years Amelia Warner is uncomfortable with the raunchy sex scenes he shares with co-star Dakota Johnson.
However, a representative for the screen star has said in a statement to MailOnline: "All press reports are pure conjecture as the studio has not committed to a sequel as yet."
Dornan recently spoke of his wife's discomfort in an interview with the Evening Standard.
He told the publication: "(Amelia) hasn't seen the film and I don't think she will, to be honest, I'd understand if she didn't want to."
And in a recent interview with Glamour magazine, his co-star Johnson also admitted that she didn't feel comfortable about her family watching the film.
She said: "I don't want my family to see [the movie], because it's inappropriate. Or my brothers' friends, who I grew up with. I think they'd be like, 'Blegh.' Also there's part of me that's like, I don't want anyone to see this movie. Just kidding."
Fans have since taken to Twitter in their droves to express their dismay at Dornan's reported decision - which comes just two weeks after the film opened to mixed reviews.
One wrote: "Was going to go see Fifty again today, but I think I'll hold off now until I know if @JamieDornan will continue."
Another added: "Jamie Dornan won't appear in the next films of 50 Shades because his wife don't like it ... #whipped divorce her man."
"Surely Jamie Dornan's wife knew what to expect when he signed up for 50 Shades? I mean the books are hardly fluffy clouds and rainbows," wrote a perplexed fan.
Dornan's reported departure follows claims that director Sam Taylor-Johnson has quit the franchise following a series of furious bust-ups with author James.
The Sun claim that the British director is keen to leave the franchise due to her constant on-set feuds with the author, despite previously claiming that she had "signed on" to work on the sequels.
A senior film insider told newspaper's Dan Wootton: "Sam won't be back for the Fifty Shades sequels. She wants out and Universal knows that's the right decision.
"Her relationship with Erika has become absolutely toxic - they despise each other and blame each other for the problems with the film."
Taylor-Johnson and James - who signed a £3 million deal with Universal and Focus Films giving them the rights to her trio of books, which also gave her creative control of the movies - are said to have clashed numerous times about sex scenes as the author wanted to make the movie racier.
The source also claimed that most of the rows between the two were due to the author's wishes for the film to be as explicit as the book.
"But Sam pushed back because she wanted the movie to be more than just a collection of S&M scenes," they added.
It was not officially confirmed that Taylor-Johnson would return to direct the sequels, although she had hinted that she was in the pipeline.
"I have a feeling discussions are going on behind closed doors but I've heard nothing so I'm as in the dark as everybody else on this," the director revealed in a recent interview with The Independent.
A representative for Taylor-Johnson has told MailOnline that "the studio have not committed to a sequel as yet" and that they decline to comment further on the matter.
Taylor-Johnson has openly admitted she and James would "often clash" while making the film and she recently revealed she was banned from using a jellyfish in a sex scene, while the author also admitted the pair "butted heads".
Despite E.L. James' bust-ups with Taylor-Johnson, the two main stars of the movie, Jamie Dornan and Dakota Johnson - who play Christian Grey and Anastasia Steele - were said to have been happy with the filmmaker.
And although they are fans of working with her, they won't have the option to leave the franchise as they have signed tight contracts to keep them in the next two films, each which will be based on the follow-up novels Fifty Shades Darker and Fifty Shades Freed.
In a previous interview, director Sam Taylor-Johnson admitted that filming the controversial film with the writer close at hand was often trying.
"It was difficult, I'm not going to lie," she confessed.
We would have proper on-set barneys and I'm not confrontational. But it was about finding a way between the two of us."
Hollywood sources previously claimed that the director and author even rowed about the final word in the film, with Taylor-Johnson favouring "red", a "safe word" used in the bedroom by the protagonists, and James insisting on "stop".
It was, says one insider, "the most petty and ridiculous argument in the world" and the climax of months of tension between the pair.
But James - who has sold 100million copies of her novel - apparently, "was given a lot of power and has used every opportunity to flex that power".
Another source who spoke to the Mail last week week claims the popular writer even threatened to tell her millions of fans across the world to boycott cinemas when the film was released on Valentine's Day if she didn't get her own way.
Taylor-Johnson recently responded rather bluntly to these rumours: "I should hope not," she retorted, when asked about them.
Despite the on-going professional scuffle between the two women, Fifty Shades Of Grey has gone on to become a huge success.
The raunchy film dominated cinemas at the weekend with ticket sales of £13.5 million since its release.
It outstripped the competition - taking in more in ticket sales than the rest of the top 10 films combined and becoming the most successful 18-certificate film ever in the UK and Ireland.
According to Deadline.com, Fifty Shades Of Grey became the US' biggest February opening of all time with an impressive haul of $93 million.
The S&M-themed film took £4.6 million in the UK on its opening night, which is the most ever for a certificate 18 film.
It broke the previous record of £3.19 million set by 2009 comedy The Hangover. And many cinemas sold out of tickets.
The hype around the film, which is based on the books by E.L James, saw some venues sell out as early as two weeks ago after film fans rushed to make advance bookings.
MailOnline has contacted a representative Universal and is awaiting comment.
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