‘Fifty Shades Darker’ Cast Update: Ian Somerhalder being Pushed by Wife Nikki Reed to play Jack Hyde?

Ian Somerhalder is the latest actor to get linked to "Fifty Shades Darker," the sequel to the erotica romance movie, "Fifty Shades of Grey."

Rumors are claiming that the "Vampire Diaries" actor, who is a fan favorite to play the villain, Jack Hyde, might actually be interested in role. These reports are claiming that Somerhalder's wife, actress Nikki Reed is pushing him to take the role if it is officially offered.

Celeb Dirty Laundry is claiming that Reed wants her husband to join the franchise so that fans can talk about his new role as opposed to his previous one in "Vampire Diaries," which continues to link him to his ex-girlfriend, Nina Dobrev.

The website wrote, "Nikki Reed is desperate to rid her husband from the stigma of Nina Dobrev, and has been urging Ian Somerhalder to quit 'The Vampire Diaries.' It's a strong possibility Reed has been pushing Somerhalder toward a movie career to end the associations with his ex-girlfriend, which has fans hopeful Ian will take 'Fifty Shades Darker' role."

Based from the books (with the same titles) written by E.L. James, Hyde is Anastasia Steele's (Dakota Johnson) boss, who appears to be romantically interested in Steele. However, he has a dark side and connection to Steele's love interest, billionaire Christian Grey (Jamie Dornan).

The role of Hyde was previously linked to Henry Cavill, who dispelled the rumors.

Somerhalder and Universal Pictures have not commented about this rumor. The studio just hired James Foley as the director and still needs to cast key roles, such as Elena Lincoln and Leila Williams. The role of Lincoln has been linked to Charlize Theron for months now. Cara Delevingne and Alexis Bledel have been rumored to play Williams.

"Fifty Shades Darker" is scheduled to hit theaters on Feb. 10, 2017.