Scheduling conflict has reportedly forced the 'Twilight Saga' actor to leave the superhero movie project, which has just been taken over from Universal Pictures by Relativity Media and Hasbro.
- January 31, 2012
AceShowbiz -
Taylor Lautner will not be seen portraying a stretchable superhero in "Stretch Armstrong". TheWrap reported that the hunky "Twilight Saga" actor has exited the film adaptation of the popular '70s Hasbro action figure due to scheduling conflicts.
Lautner, who will next be seen starring in "The Twilight Saga's Breaking Dawn Part II", is currently busy with the pre-production of "Incarceron". He is also said to have been cast in an indie movie by Oscar-winning filmmaker Gus Van Sant.
As for "Stretch Armstrong" itself, the movie project has been taken over from Universal Pictures by Relativity Media and Hasbro. On Monday, January 30, Relativity announced its partnership with the toy company and revealed the plan to release the movie on April 11, 2014. The studio additionally noted that a new cast will be announced in a near future.
"We are absolutely thrilled to partner with Hasbro, a company whose global reach and ability to innovate has made them immensely successful in the arena of brand reimagination, as evidenced by their legacy of creating such franchises as 'Transformers' and 'G.I. Joe'," said Relativity co-president Tucker Tooley of the partnership.
"Stretch Armstrong" is a superhero comedy based on the Hasbro-owned toy. The toy, a 13-inch, blond-haired muscled figure whose limbs could be stretch to nearly four feet, was launched by Kenner in the '70s. He had a dog named Fetch Armstrong, and a sibling, Evil X-Ray Wretch Armstrong.
The film project was initially developed at Universal and was scheduled to be released sometime in 2012. Lautner was tapped for a reported $7.5 million for the project. It was said that he had previously cleared up his schedules to star in this big-budget film, including dropping out of "Max Steel" and "Northern Lights".
