Director Sam Taylor-Johnson has officially bowed out of doing any more of the Fifty Shades of Grey franchise. 

Sam released a statement to Deadline announcing the news, saying:

“Directing Fifty Shades Of Grey has been an intense and incredible journey for which I am hugely grateful. I have Universal to thank for that. I forged close and lasting relationships with the cast, producers and crew and most especially, with Dakota and Jamie. While I will not be returning to direct the sequels, I wish nothing but success to whosoever takes on the exciting challenges of films two and three.”

Although it had been rumoured that the director had a falling out with author of the books, E.L. James, nothing had yet been confirmed. The creative control given to the first-time author was said to be unusual and caused arguments between two.

No replacement for Sam has yet been announced.

Let’s look on the bright side – it could have been Jamie!