Taylor Lautner Trades Max Steel For Stretch Armstrong
By Krystal Clark
Taylor Lautner is taking a serious look at all the projects he’s signed on for in the past few months. Between Max Steel and Stretch Armstrong, his future looks overtly campy and bright, but according to an exclusive report from Vulture one of these projects won’t survive.
The actor has decided to drop out of Max Steel in favor of the other toy adaptation, Stretch Armstrong. Why would he do such a thing? It was a battle between Mattel and Hasbro and in this case the latter walked away victorious. Hasbro was making the necessary moves to get their film into development a lot faster than the competition and Lautner was impressed with their urgency.
Also, when it comes to toy movie track records Hasbro does have the upper hand, i.e. Transformers, G.I. Joe, the upcoming Battleship, and even Candyland are all locked and loaded. What has Mattel produced that’s anywhere near that success level besides an array of straight to DVD Barbie movies?
Even though Stretch Armstrong makes more sense in terms of business savvy, the actual character development is what worries me. Lautner doesn’t look anything like the toy or the image of Armstrong we grew up with. I guess his Twilight fans will overlook that fact to make this movie a huge success regardless of its connection to the “source material.”
What do you think of Lautner dropping out of Max Steel? Did he make the right decision?
Saturday, February 27, 2010 2:31PM
Hmmm….Taylor Lautner as Stretch Armstrong. I think tht it's a shame that either one of these projects survived. And as far as Stretch goes, if only Taylor could use some of Strecth's perceived height to make the casting somewhat less glaring.
Tuesday, May 18, 2010 8:08PM
I think he's committing career suicide- he's better off trying his luck in something more along the lines of a thriller/action role, like the Abduction movie he's taken on. He did well on SNL too, I think comedy could be an avenue for him to explore, needs to do some indie work too. I think his parents are trying to ride his moneymaker as far as it will take them. The kid needs to find someone who is looking out for his interests-would hate to see him be a has-been at 30.