Luke Grimes abruptly exits True Blood Season 7, role of James will be recast

The HBO vampire hit True Blood has not even begun production on its seventh and final season, but the show has already lost a cast member thanks to an abrupt and unexpected exit.

TVLine first reported exclusively that Luke Grimes (no relation to Rick Grimes, as far as we know), who joined the cast of the HBO show in Season 6 as Jessica's (Deborah Ann Woll) dark and brooding lover James, suddenly quit the series.

The site reached out to an HBO spokesperson, who confirmed that Grimes had left the show. "The role of James is being recast due to the creative direction of the character," the spokesperson told TVLine.

The site also contacted Grimes' representative for comment but the rep declined; however, a source close to the actor, who starred on both Brothers & Sisters and Forever (the latter with Deborah Ann Woll), told TVLine that Grimes asked to be released from his contract after he discovered what the producers of the show had planned for James in Season 7.

"He initially joined the show because he wanted to work with [Deborah Ann Woll," the inside source revealed. "But when he started reading the scripts for Season 7, he was disappointed to learn that they were going in a completely different direction with James."

Grimes is not out of work, though, as he recently signed on to play Christian Grey's brother in the Fifty Shades of Grey movie.

True Blood heads into production on Season 7 in January and will debut in June.

What do you think, True Blood fans? Did Grimes have the right to walk away from the show, or should he have stuck it out for the final 10 episodes? Let us know in the comments below.