From Sharkboy to werewolf

I'm actually happy that Taylor Lautner has been retained as Jacob Black in New Moon. I know there has been some contention among Twilighters about his casting, and the anti side has given valid arguments why he should be ditched, major of these was his height. New Moon is after all Jake's movie, and  unless Taylor spurts really big this year, he might end up looking like Sharkboy rather than Jake, who'll be growing to 6'5" or thereabouts in this sequel.

But I guess the people behind the movie realized that tweaking with the original cast members at this point, at least for the major parts, was just too risky. And Jake after all was a regular 16-year-old when the novel opened, exactly the same age as Taylor now (althought Taylor will be 17 by the time they start filming).

Here's New Moon director Chris Weitz's announcement, as posted on Stephenie Meyer's website on January 7: 

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.

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 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; and I'm looking forward to working with him and the rest of the cast in realizing the film.

very best

Chris Weitz

And Stephenie herself adds:

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

On a side note, I tried googling for Jacob Black official posters and found that they're quite rare. Even pictures of Taylor in character are very limited. But here's what I found so far. And even from these few picks, I can see that Taylor will be able to flesh out Jake's sincere, sunshiny but volatile character.

Ok, his body doesn't look so Jacoby. But he's not doing bad for a 16-year-old boy. I just hope he doesn't take to steroids just to look burly.

I was just "rereading" Twilight through an audiobook, and I can't help but think of this face when the young Quileute boy was mentioned. He does look warm and friendly enough to be that boy who unwittingly revealed Edward's secret to Bella at the La Push beach.