Taylor Lautner was made a part of the Twilight franchise at a young age. And yet it remains to be his magnum opus, the work he is most known for. The American star dedicated 5 years of his life to the franchise. And it was all worth it in the end, with the franchise becoming the project that would propel his name to the limelight. However, things could have turned out very differently. Word has it that Lautner was almost recast after Twilight.
Taylor Lautner almost lost the role of Jacob in The Twilight Saga: New Moon
Taylor Lautner AKA Jacob was just a teen when he starred in Twilight. A 16-year-old boy who couldn’t boast of being the most muscular man, he did however perfectly fit the bill for the 2008 film. But things were about to change with the second installment.
On an episode of Alex Cooper’s Call Her Daddy podcast, the 31-year-old made a joint appearance with his wife, Taylor Dome. In the episode, he opened up on a host of issues, including revealing that he was almost recast.
Taylor Lautner was brought in only for Twilight
Getting candid about the experience, he told Alex Cooper,
“They called me and said, ‘Thank you for your participation, but we’re recasting you for the rest of the franchise.'”
Apparently, when The Twilight Saga: New Moon was under works, the plan was to look for a muscular man. Taylor Lautner didn’t fit the bill surely. He continued,
“So their plan all along was to cast a 16-year-old, which they did… And then they were going to cast like a mid-20s guy to carry on and be Jacob for the rest of the franchise.”
Some plan, wasn’t it?
Taylor Lautner had already begun to work on his body
Yet Taylor Lautner was not ready to go out that easily. He knew he had a fight at his hands. And fight he did.
Taylor Lautner says he was almost recast in ‘The Twilight Saga: New Moon’ with a ‘built, muscular man’:
“They called me and said, ‘Thank you for your participation, but we’re recasting you for the rest of the franchise.’ My character in the first book is supposed to be like a…
— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) December 14, 2023
Actually, his fight had already begun. When the studio called him about being recast, they didn’t know that he had already begun taking counter-measures.
The Abduction star had begun to hit the gym. He had been “hardcore working out for about nine months” and had gained “20 or 25 pounds.”
After some time and an audition, he was recast as everyone’s favorite werewolf, reclaiming his role for the entirety of the franchise.
Source: Twitter
