'50 Shades of Grey' Movie Cast: Anastasia Steele to be Cast First as Felicity Jones is Considered, Film Gets Official Release Date

Is this real life? Could it be true? Is the "50 Shades of Grey" crew actually taking steps toward making a casting decision? For months fans have been left to their own devices, fumbling across the Internet to dig up dirt on their favorite contenders that might hint at their involvement in the upcoming film. Sadly, fans have received nothing in return. They work hard, day in and day out, to keep the "50 Shades" wheelhouse turning, but E. L. James and Universal Studios seem to look the other way. The continually leave fans high and dry, feeding off their own speculations. Taking a step in the right direction, they did find a director in Sam Taylor-Johnson a couple weeks back, but remained silent on any casting rumors. Well, that silence has been broken.

There are no official casting decisions as of yet, but now that Taylor-Johnson is on board, the "50 Shades" teams assures fans that the casting process is well underway and is now on the table for deliberation. Upon the directors arrival, her husband Aaron Taylor-Johnson became a likely candidate to play Christian Grey, but insiders quickly put those rumors to rest. Universal Studios and Focus Features then stated that they would likely cast Anastasia Steele before turning to Mr. Grey. As of now, it's rumored that the names Felicity Jones and Alicia Vikander from "A Royal Affair" have been tossed around during production meetings.

And what about our perfect Mr. Grey? He may be on the backburner for now, but that's not enough to distinguish the roaring "50 Shades" flame. Mock trailers and fan polls continue to spark unwarranted speculation. But while rumors may run rampant, it's clear whom fans want as their Christian. Ian Somerhalder, Matt Bomer and Henry Cavill remain the clear top three contenders for the juicy role, unfortunately, only time will tell who will be awarded with the honor of playing the male lead in the "50 Shades" movie. Only time will tell.

"50 Shades of Grey" will hit theaters on August 1, 2014. It's long been slated for a summer 2014 release, and now Universal and Focus have confirmed the date, so mark your calendars.