'New Moon' director Chris Weitz has confirmed that Taylor Lautner, the 16-year-old actor who plays Jacob Black in 'Twilight', will return to play Black in the vampire drama sequel.
- Jan 8, 2009
AceShowbiz - Taylor Lautner will definitely reprise his Jacob Black role in "New Moon". After weeks of uncertainty, director Chris Weitz confirmed the involvement of the 16-year-old in the sequel of "Twilight". Weitz's announcement of Lautner's return has been posted by author Stephenie Meyer on her site on Wednesday, January 7.
"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," so read the helmer's statement. The message continues with Weitz further explaining about the casting situation, "The characters in Stephenie's books go through extraordinary changes of circumstance and also appearance; so 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. I think that fans of 'Twilight' the book and the movie will be surprised by the Jacob Black that Taylor will bring to the screen in 'New Moon'; and I'm looking forward to working with him and the rest of the cast in realizing the film."
On the post, Meyer also included her opinion on the bringing back of Lautner. "My first priority was always what was best for 'New Moon' - what was going to give us the best possible movie," the "Twilight" series author wrote. "I'm truly thrilled that Taylor was the one who proved to the director, to Summit, and to me that he is the best possible Jacob we could have. And I'm very much looking forward to seeing what he's going to bring to Jacob's character this year."
Since early December 2008, Taylor Lautner's fate as Jacob Black in "Twilight" sequel has been hanging on a balance. Seeing that the character evolves so much in "New Moon" and Lautner's appearance is too young-looking, Summit Entertainment have considered to replace him with a more mature actor. Earlier, speculation of him most likely keeping his role has been brought to the surface by Entertainment Weekly.
Meanwhile, "New Moon" is an adaptation to Stephenie Meyer's second novel of her "Twilight" series, penned by "Twilight" screenwriter Melissa Rosenberg. It still follows the romantic story between Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) and Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson). The production of "New Moon" is scheduled to begin in the coming months for November 20, 2009 release.
