The news is out! Taylor Lautner will be back as Jacob Black in Twilight 2: New Moon. After weeks of speculation that he will be replaced by another actor, bigger and bulkier Michael Copon - a requisite for the new Jacob role, the rumors were finally put to rest with finality by the director of New Moon himself, Chris Weitz. The confirmation is posted on Twilight series author, Stephenie Meyer's site, recently. In a note from Director Chris Weitz, it reads:.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.
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.
This was further supported by Stephenie Meyer who added her own views on the choice:
I'd just like to add that I was very much a part of this decision. My first priority was always what was best for New Moon—what was going to give us the best possible movie. 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.
Rumors started circulating about the possible replacement of Taylor Lautner in Twilight 2: New Moon late last year, not long after the confirmation of the sequel to the blockbuster movie was announced. After it was learned that a new director would take charge of Twilight 2/New Moon, the partial list of the cast of actors and actresses for the film was also revealed. Omitted from the list was the name of Taylor Lautner. This led to speculations that he would be replaced since the Jacob Black role in New moon would call for a bigger, brawnier and more mature-looking actor. Immediately, Twilight fans were in uproar. And when the name of Michael Copon, a Filipino-American actor, surfaced, more Twilight fans objected. This conflict was further aggravated by Coppon's alleged gloating on his MySpace page which was subsequently hit by a barrage of nasty comments from die-hard Twilight and Taylor Lautner fans.
Meanwhile, Taylor Lautner didn't give up, announcing that he would fight to keep the role. "I have been working out. I've been working out since the day we finished filming 'Twilight.' I just weighed myself today; I've put on 19 pounds," he said. "I'm guaranteeing Weitz 10 more [pounds] by filming. I get to meet Chris on Friday, in two days, so I'm excited. I'm going to have lunch with him."
The news that Taylor Lautner will reprise his role in Twilight 2/New Moon will surely be greeted positively by his fans. The film adaptation for New Moon is scheduled for release sometime in November of 2009, with a tentative release date of November 20, 2009.
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