Of course, Jacob reveals more about himself in
New Moon. In
Twilight he was just a friend of Bella’s that spends most of the time in the background, but in the follow-up, he emerges as a descendant of a long line of werewolves—in the lines of that Daft Punk song that Kanye West sampled, he comes out “harder, better, faster, stronger.” Or something like that.
In last year’s
Twilight film, Jacob’s role was taken on by
Taylor Lautner, but his position in the upcoming film version of
New Moon was put into question. Besides, during his transformation to a werewolf, he grows bigger—much bigger—and ages by five years. The 16-year-old actor can’t grow five years in a year, obviously, and working around it is a harder thing to do. When Chris Weitz took over the director’s seat from Catherine Hardwicke, the rumors went around—would Lautner stay? Would he be able to cope with his role?
Apparently everyone has utmost confidence in the actor, as Weitz himself confirmed that Lautner will stay on as Jacob Black in the sequel, which hits theaters later this year. “[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,” the director said in a statement posted on series author Stephenie Meyer’s website. “I think that fans of
Twilight … 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.”
In addition, Meyer expressed her excitement over the decision. “I’m truly thrilled that Taylor was the one who proved to the director, to [Summit Entertainment], and to me that he is the best possible Jacob we could have,” she said. “And I’m very much looking forward to seeing what he’s going to bring to Jacob’s character this year.”
How this will turn out, of course, remains to be seen. I’ve no doubt that Lautner will give the role justice, but I’m just thinking about his build and his look for the film. But that should be the least of our concerns, right?
-Henrik Batallones, BuddyTV Staff Columnist
Source:
MTV News
(Image courtesy of SlashFilm)
