ryan goslingJust when you thought it might be safe to sit back and relax, assuming Universal would hire a writer and a director for the Fifty Shades of Grey movie before casting their leading man! Now, an undeniably juicy rumor is swirling and hard to ignore, given its source. Speaking to Now magazine, E.L. James' hubby, Niall Leonard, said "last he heard" Ryan Gosling is set to play Christian Grey. Say whaaaa?!!

Granted, there could have been some kind of miscommunication or confusion in the way the question was asked or answered. Leonard may have even been messing with the media. So, let's not bust out the bubbly just yet. But if anyone would know what the inside scoop is with casting (besides the author and the studio), it would be the author's husband. So this little sound byte may be foreshadowing insanely exciting news.

After all, Gosling is pretty much everyone's (save the die-hard Ian Somerhalder fans) long-shot, fantasy pick for the role. I really can't see any fan or woman on this planet griping about him being cast as Christian. Oh, and he's SO cool that even straight guys -- who have been rolling their eyes at the Fifty Shades fervor --  secretly (or not so secretly) want to be Ryan Gosling. Universal knows that and I'm sure they realize casting the former Mousekateer as Christian could make for even greater mass appeal.

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Moreover, if Universal wants to save the film from being seen as schlocky softcore porn, getting Gosling to play Christian a surefire fix. The A-list actor would bring automatic cred to the flick. Geeze, depending on how primo the script and directing ended up being, it could make its way to the awards circuit!

Okay, maybe that's putting the cart before the horse. But there's no doubt about it -- Gosling as Grey would be a major coup. Guess we'll just have to wait and see if Universal really did pull it off!

Do you believe that Ryan Gosling's got the role in the bag?

 

Image via Frazer Harrison/Getty