CHICAGO – Fans of the “Twilight” books and movies have been clamoring for news about whether or not Taylor Lautner would reprise his role in the sequel to the massively successful film, “New Moon”. Just a small announcement that didn’t feature Lautner in the cast list in this slideshow [1] caused unrest in the “New Moon” community over the potential of re-casting the role. Good news, Taylor fans. He’s back.
Chris Weitz, the director of “New Moon,” revealed Wednesday in a post to Stephenie Meyer’s website [2], “I’m very happy to announce that Taylor Lautner will be playing Jacob Black in New Moon and that he’s doing so with the enthusiastic support of Summit Entertainment, the producers, and Stephenie Meyer.”
There had been questions as to whether or not Taylor Lautner would be allowed to return because his character, Jacob Black, grows significantly in physical size in “New Moon” and plays a much bigger role. MTV News recently spoke to Lautner who said that he had been bulking up in the hope that he would be brought back for the role. He said, “My job for Twilight was to bring Twilight Jacob to life - the friendly, happy-go-lucky little Jacob. My job for New Moon is completely different. I’ve been looking forward to that. I’ve been getting ready for it, and I can assure them I will follow through with that”
Taylor Lautner in “Twilight”
Photo credit: Summit Publicity
The director and Summit Entertainment agreed that Taylor Lautner can handle the role, with Chris Weitz writing, “It is not surprising that there has been speculation about whether the same actor would portray a character who changes in so many surprising ways throughout the series. But it was my first instinct that Taylor was, is, and should be Jacob, and that the books would be best served by the actor who is emotionally right for the part.”
“Twilight”, starring Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, and Taylor Lautner, from director Catherine Hardwicke, has grossed $178 million domestically, putting the sequel, “New Moon,” into production immediately. Other books in the Stephenie Meyer series include “Eclipse” and “Breaking Dawn”.
Read our Robert Pattinson story on “Parts Per Billion” and “New Moon”. [3]See our 2009 Summit release slideshow with “New Moon”. [4]See our high-quality, 28-image “Twilight” slideshow. [5]Read our “Twilight” opening-weekend box-office story. [6]Read our “Twilight” sequel story prior to opening weekend. [7] [8] | By BRIAN TALLERICO [9] |