Darren Aronofsky reportedly turned down 'Fifty Shades of Grey'.

The Oscar-nominated 'Black Swan' director was offered the opportunity to bring E.L. James' saucy novel to life on the big screen but rejected movie studio Universal's offer, resulting in Sam Taylor-Johnson landing the coveted spot, according to TheWrap.com.

The filmmaker was approached ''a month ago'' but decided against taking on the project as he is still finishing production on his new Biblical movie 'Noah', which is based on Noah's Ark and boasts an all-star cast including Russell Crowe, Jennifer Connelly and Emma Watson.

Many top directors lobbied for the directorial chair on the upcoming movie project, with names including Gus Van Sant, Joe Wright and Angelina Jolie linked to the role.

Van Sant even created a test reel in a bid to land the job. The clip featured a particularly erotic scene with 'Magic Mike' hunk Alex Pettyfer in the role of Christian Grey.

Taylor-Johnson was confirmed as director yesterday and said in a statement: ''I am excited to be charged with the evolution of 'Fifty Shades of Grey' from page to screen.

''For the legions of fans, I want to say that I will honour the power of Erika's book and the characters of Christian and Anastasia. They are under my skin too.''

The film will be based on E.L. James' saucy novel trilogy about a young, virginal assistant who embarks in a sexual relationship with her S&M-loving boss.