Fans of the Twilight novels — specifically those who identify themselves as ''Team Jacob'' — are divided over whether Lautner has the machismo to carry New Moon. In fact, pro-Lautner/anti-Lautner fights have been breaking out on the Web for weeks. As screenwriter Rosenberg puts it, ''He has to play a romantic lead against Rob, who's a 22-year-old man. That's a tall order.''

Summit declined to comment on the specifics of this story, but Twilight has so far grossed $263 million worldwide, and usually when a stu­dio hits franchise pay dirt it tries to keep all the parts in place. Yes, there are exceptions. Just this past October, Marvel announced it was replac­ing Terrence Howard with Don Cheadle in Iron Man 2. Nick Stahl took over for Edward Furlong as John Connor in Terminator 3, while Jake Gyl­lenhaal very nearly stole Spider-Man 2 out from under Tobey Maguire. Recently, there have been rumors that Michael Copon (The Scorpion King 2) and Steven Strait (10,000 BC) are jockeying for Lautner's spot. But you can chalk that up to empty Web noise: Reps for both actors say nei­ther has been approached for the role. In fact, in what may shape up to be a triumph of the underdog, sources close to the production say that the simplest route would be to go with Laut­ner. EW has confirmed that the actor has not only met with director Weitz, but was even screen-tested for chemistry with Kristen Stew­art. ''I'm very hopeful,'' a New Moon insider says of Lautner. ''We're not looking at anybody else.''

The irony, it turns out, is that Summit went to an awful lot of trouble to find Lautner in the first place. In late 2007, the studio launched a nationwide cam­paign, auditioning hundreds of hopefuls in a search for just the right Native American actor to play Jacob Black. They never did find one — Lautner, turns out, is French, Dutch, and German — but it was a lot of work. Of course, nobody back then could have anticipated just how huge a phenome­non the first Twilight movie would become — or how much would end up riding on the casting of its sequel. Even if Lautner does keep his job, he may be nervous enough to start pulling his fur out.

More Twilight coverage:
Twilight sequel: Chris Weitz to direct 'New Moon'
EW's Twilight Headquarters
Twilight sequel: Who would you recast?
Twilight Trivia Challenge
Twilight: The EW Photo Album

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