Taylor Lautner Will Return in Twilight Sequel After All

January 8, 2009

Good news, 12-year-olds: you won't have to train your hearts to fall in love with a new Jacob Black after all. After Twilight premiered in November to big screams and even bigger box office returns, 16-year-old Taylor Lautner's involvement in the sequel became a source of debate among fans and critics alike. The baby-faced actor was a perfect fit to play the young, slight Jacob in the first film, but in New Moon, the character goes through some big changes.

How big? Remember when you started getting irritable three days a month and began finding hair where there wasn't before? Imagine that, only 1,000 times worse: he becomes a seven-foot-tall werewolf (or "Lycan" to those of you who would email us to correct our terminology) who falls in love with Bella Swan and butts heads with Edward Cullen and the rest of his vampire clan.

''He's a foot taller and huge — and he's supposed to look 25. It's really a question of whether or not the same actor can play the role,'' Twilight and New Moon screenwriter Melissa Rosenberg told Entertainment Weekly.

But in a post on Twilight novelist Stephenie Meyer's website yesterday, New Moon director Chris Weitz confirmed that Lautner would indeed be returning as Jacob Black.

"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," wrote Weitz. "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."

Entertainment Weekly reports that Lautner put plenty of effort into securing his role in New Moon. The young actor has put on 19 lbs. of muscle since filming Twilight (promising to put on another ten before New Moon begins filming in March) and has been mentally preparing for Jacob's darker characterization as well.

''My job for Twilight was to bring Twilight Jacob to life — the friendly, happy-go-lucky little Jacob,'' Lautner recently told MTV News. ''My job for New Moon is completely different. I've been looking forward to that. I've been getting ready for it, and I can assure them I will follow through with that.''

Time to put your money where your mouth is, Taylor.