Taylor Lautner Remains as Jacob Black

Posted by Michelle Graham (michelle@filmschoolrejects.com) on January 8, 2009

Debate rages on as to which beau is best for Bella Swan. However, whether you’re rooting for fangs or fur, fear not! Jacob Black remains as cute, cuddly and Taylor-y as ever before. Throughout the last month or so, the part of Jacob Black in New Moon, the next installment of the Twilight saga, has been a murky subject. Chris Weitz, the director of the Twilight saga’s newest installment, New Moon, was reportedly unsure as to whether Lautner could believably carry off the role. The growth spurt undergone by the character was the main bone of casting contention with Taylor’s youthful facial features perfect for the pre-transformation Black, but not quite carrying off the beefed up version from the latter half of the book.

However, Lautner stepped up to the plate in fine fashion and showed his dedication to the part. A little over a month later, Lautner has gained 19lb (hopefully of muscle) and has promised to deliver another 10lb to the director prior to starting shooting. Something about his changed physique must have clicked, because Weitz released a statement yesterday on Stephenie Meyer’s (the author of the Twilight saga) blog, confirming that the part of Jacob Black would NOT be played by someone new.

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 recently saw Twilight for the first time and it seems to me that Lautner, despite the lack of screen time, was well able to handle the emotional aspect of the role. What can’t be achieved with height displacement and camera trickery (unless you are telling me that Elijah Wood actually shrank for his Lord of the Rings appearances) is probably not worth worrying about, and with an extra 29lb on him, it’s unlikely that Lautner’s going to disappoint his Team Jacob fans.

Read more articles by Michelle Graham