The Batman star Robert Pattinson nearly missed out on playing Edward Cullen in The Twilight Saga.
Josh Peck, who rose to fame as a former child star of the Nickelodeon sitcom Drake & Josh, recently invited Taylor Lautner as a guest for his Good Guys Podcast. During the conversation, Peck shared how he remembers being up for the role of Edward in Twilight back when the film was in the early stages of production. The actor was encouraged to audition for Twilight, reading for the Edward role, and he was surprised to get a call back the next month. Peck says he was told that he was actually very close to landing the part, though even at the time, he didn’t quite understand why.
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“I’m with my manager, he goes, ‘It’s down to you and three guys. You’re close.’ I’m like, ‘Really?’ I hadn’t even had a tummy tuck yet. I’m like, ‘There’s no way,'” Peck said. “He’s got to be so shirtless. It’s not going to happen. Spoiler alert: didn’t get it, but I remember then seeing [Pattinson] playing this part. I’m like, in what f***ing world were they like, ‘Okay, here’s what we’re thinking, Chris Hemsworth or Stanley Tucci?’ What the f***? Impossible!”
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There are other names who were reportedly up for the role of Edward before Pattinson was cast. This includes Jackson Rathbone, Shiloh Fernandez, and Ben Barnes. As for Edward’s love interest, Kristen Stewart’s Bella Swan, other hopefuls who were considered for that role include Lily Collins and Jennifer Lawrence. Taylor Lautner, meanwhile, landed his role of Jacob Black after an open casting call.
After Twilight was released in 2008, it was followed with four sequels before the movie series condluded with The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2 in 2012. There had subsequently been rumors of a possible sequel or spinoff for the films, but they never materialized. However, the franchise is set to be expanded with a television series reboot that is currently in the works at Lionsgate Television. As of now, no cast members have been announced for the show and it remains unclear who might be playing the new incarnations of Edward Cullen, Bella Swan, and Jacob Black.
