Taylor Lautner Dropped From 'Stretch Armstrong' Film
Taylor Lautner has been dropped from the "Stretch Armstrong" film because of scheduling conflicts, but the film is still set to be released.
Taylor Lautner, best known for his role in "Twilight" as Jacob Black, a werewolf, dropped potentially lucrative films like "Max Steel" and "Northern Lights" for the part of Stretch, but had to give up his role anyway.
Lautner wasn't the only major name to be dropped from the project, though. The director, Rob Letterman, and the producers, Imagine Entertainment, are both no longer involved, according to TheWrap.
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The movie faces an uncertain future, but Relativity will be handling the film until its release, which is slated for April 11, 2014. Relativity set Ryan Kavanaugh and Hasbro representatives Brian Goldner and Bennet Schnier to produce the movie, while Relativity's Tucker Tooley was appointed executive producer.
"We are absolutely thrilled to partner with Hasbro, a company whose global reach and ability to innovate has made them immensely successful in the arena of brand reimagination," said Tooley in a statement.
No reports have currently surfaced regarding Lautner's replacement.
Lautner, though, has several other projects to keep him busy, even though he will no longer act for "Stretch Armstrong."
He will appear in the last movie of the "Twilight" series, "Breaking Dawn: Part II." The movies so far have grossed over $2 billion.
In addition, the action star is working on the pre-production of sci-fi action flick "Incarceron," as well as an independent film with Oscar-winning filmmaker Gus Van Sant, according to AceShowBiz.
"Stretch Armstrong" will be based on the Hasbro toy, and because the toy lacked a storyline, moviegoers will be poised to see an entirely original film.
The toy was first made and released in 1976, and would stretch several feet before returning back to its initial form. When it was re-released in the 1990s, filmmakers took interest, and names like Disney, Tim Allen, and Jackie Chan were rumored to be involved.
Hasbro and Universal planned to make "Stretch Armstrong" by April 15, 2011, but it was delayed.
