Don’t count Emma Watson in for Fifty Shades of Grey just yet.
The Harry Potter star had been rumored to join the film adaptation of E.L. James’ best-selling novel after some leaked documents connected her to the movie, but the studio responsible for the film quashed those rumors on Friday.
Rumors of Emma Watson signing on for the role of Anastasia Steele came from an unlikely source — computer hackers. The online collective of hackers known as Anonymous was able to infiltrate the server of German studio Constantin Films and released several documents related to Fifty Shades of Grey . One of those documents noted that Emma Watson was penciled in for the lead role, though Constantin downplayed the hacking to The Hollywood Reporter .
Universal Pictures later stepped in, telling USA Today that reports of Emma Watson in the lead role were not true.
“No one has been cast yet,” a Universal Pictures spokesman said.
Focus Features, which is making the film with Universal Pictures, added that Constantin Films is not actually involved in making Fifty Shades of Grey , so documents leaked about Emma Watson wouldn’t be true.
Rumors that Watson was signed on to the Fifty Shades of Grey had been circulating for months, and Watson said even some of her friends started to think she was committed to the movie.
“I told them just because there are 60 articles on the Internet doesn’t mean it’s any less true than if there are three or four,” Watson said back in July. “The thing is I’m not going to go out there every time someone attaches me to a film to say no or release a statement.”
The Fifty Shades of Grey film adaptation still has no director, either, though Ian Somerhalder has emerged as a fan favorite for the role of Christian Grey. Aside from Watson, those rumored to be in the running for the role of Anastasia Steele include Mila Kunis and Alexis Bledel.
Another casting rumor about Emma Watson was cleared up this week as well. There had been word that she would be playing Cinderella in a new Disney movie , but it was reported that Watson changed her mind and wouldn’t be doing the film.