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Yesterday I posted a newslink from Entertainment Weekly magazine that reported that all signs were pointing toward Taylor Lautner retaining the role of Jacob Black (which he originated in the Twilight movie that opened last November) for the upcoming Twilight movie sequel New Moon. As you may recall, there was some chatter that Lautner might be replaced for the role by Michael Copon in order to beef up the character in the next film (which is an integral component of the New Moon story). Some fans thought Lautner should be replaced and others lobbied for him to keep the role … Stephenie Meyer, author of the Twilight Saga books, announced on her official website that the decision has been made and Taylor Lautner WILL keep the role of Jacob Black:

January 7, 2009

Good news about New Moon from director Chris Weitz:

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.

Chris Weitz

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.

- Steph

IMHO, this is great news. Altho I always felt that, if handled properly, bringing in a new actor to play the “much changed” Jacob could work in the next film, I really wanted Taylor to keep the part. First, I hate when major characters get replaced with new actors in between films. Second, I thought that Taylor did a great job of bringing Jacob to life in the first film. In the end, none of this is rocket science and I’m sure they would’ve made any scenario work but I’m happy that Lautner will be able to keep playing the role he originated and won’t be cast aside as the next film is being made. I’m sure he is very happy with this news … Michael Copon, notsomuch.

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Now that the biz of selecting a new director for the Twilight movie sequel has been settled, the next step is to go about the biz of casting New Moon. With a new director comes the feasibility that character roles may be recast and actors who were hired to play a role in one movie may be axed from playing that same role in the next movie. Specifically, the role of Jacob Black — who undergoes a lot of change from Twilight to New Moon and plays a very significant role in the sequel — is, apparently, up for grabs as new chatter suggests that Taylor Lautner (the actor who portrayed the young Jacob in Twilight) may be replaced by a different actor. Enter Michael Copon, a beefy-looking actor best known from the film Scorpion King 2, who is said to be up for the role of Jacob Black which would thereby leave Lautner out in the cold. Additionally, Ben Barnes (who played Prince Caspian in the Chronicles of Narnia sequel) is said to be interested in playing a member of the powerful vampire “family” the Volturi. It sounds like production on New Moon is already getting into full swing and these decisions are likely to be made very soon:

Following last week’s dismissal and replacement of Catherine Hardwicke, this weekend began with a press release from Summit Entertainment officially appointing “New Moon” director Chris Weitz to the job. Suspicious in its omission of Taylor Lautner, the release seemed to all but confirm Twilighter whispers that Hardwicke won’t be the last “Twilight” talent replaced before the sequel. So where does the series go from here? MTV News can confirm that 26-year-old “Scorpion King 2″ actor Michael Copon [pronounced "COPE-on"] is one of several actors Weitz is considering to play the new, larger Jacob Black. A representative for Copon told us that they’re making a full effort to land the high-profile gig. And in a bit of 21st-century self-publicity, the actor has even recently updated his Facebook status with messages like: “Michael Copon [is] in a Twilight Zone!” and “Michael Copon is the older Jacob Black!” Copon’s representative confirmed to MTV News that the Facebook page is run by the actor himself and that those are indeed his words. Approached for comment on Lautner’s omission from the “New Moon” press release, Summit confirmed that it was not a typographical error. “The casting decision in regards to the character Jacob Black has yet to be made,” a representative told MTV News.

But even once Copon (or whoever else) is officially announced as the new Jacob, Weitz still has many other key casting decisions to make and an extremely brief amount of time in which to make them. With barely 12 weeks until cameras are due to begin rolling, the “Golden Compass” filmmaker needs to find faces to portray several key characters — including the peace-keeping, Italian vampires known as the Volturi. With the buzz building for these roles, MTV News has confirmed that 27-year-old “Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian” heartthrob Ben Barnes is throwing his hat into the ring. The actor is already quite popular with the “Twilight” fanbase and shares the same manager as both Copon and “Twilight” star Cam Gigandet. Barnes is believed to be campaigning for the role of Aro, a mind-reading vampire whose “New Moon” encounter with Edward and Bella helps shape their destiny together.

I mean, I get that sometimes characters have to be recast but something about giving Taylor Lautner the shaft and bringing in a new person kinda irks me. I really think that Taylor can do the job of playing Jacob in New Moon and I would love to see him be allowed to continue playing the part. That being said, I think his Michael Copon guy looks like he would make a pretty good older Jacob Black — in fact, he looks very much like an older and muscly version of Taylor Lautner himself. I would bet money that Ben Barnes will get the role of Aro and I’m sure we’ll be hearing very soon who else is up for playing other Volturi characters. New Moon is still about a year away from hitting theaters and the drama is already in full swing. What do y’all think … should Copon be cast as the new Jacob? Do y’all think that his Facebook announcement is pretty much proof that he already got the part?

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