Jackson Rathbone set tween hearts ablaze last fall as vampire vegetarian “Jasper” in “Twilight“. The actor/musician (he IS the band “100 Monkeys”) is now set to take on the role of “Sokka” in M. Night Shayamalan’s big screen version of Nickelodeon’s “The Last Airbender“. Shayamalan is best known for suspenseful thrillers with twist endings like The Sixth Sense, but his most recent release, “The Happening” starring Mark Wahlburg, received not-so-nice reviews from critics and left many fans of the movie maker disappointed.
Other actors who are set to take on roles in the film include “Deck the Halls” actress Nicola Peltz, who will play Rathbone’s sister Katara and newcomer Noah Ringer. Ringer is slated to tackle the lead role of Aang. It is rumored that other tween sensation Jesse McCartney is also on board. Some critics are concerned about the young, somewhat inexperienced cast. My major concern is how will Tiger Beat manage all the centerfold layouts this cast will generate.
Rathbone tells MTV:
“For me, it’s a great chance to show my range a little bit more,” comparing Sokka to his “Twilight” character. “It’s a chance to do something a little funnier; something less serious than Jasper.”
Twi-hards need not to worry. Rathbone is set to reprise his role of Jasper in New Moon which begins filming in March. Shayamalan is already receiving flack for not casting Asian actors in the film.
When asked his opinion on the matter, Rathbone shrugged it off stating:
“I think it’s one of those things where I pull my hair up, shave the sides, and I definitely need a tan,” he said of the transformation he’ll go through to look more like Sokka. “It’s one of those things where, hopefully, the audience will suspend disbelief a little bit.”
Ummm…OK. I guess if you think that makes you appear more Asian, then bring on the Bic and start shaving. ‘The Last Airbender’ is scheduled to hit theaters in the summer of 2010.
Written by: Crista Webster
No one would ever know he played Jasper! Hope this movie does better than Shayamalan’s last movie. He hasn’t down anything good since Sixth Sense.
Thanks for the new info on one of the Twilight dreamboys.
I just want to say that “The Villiage,” “Signs” and “The Happening” were all Shyamalan films made after “The Sixth Sense” and those movies were fantastic. The reason why so many people didn’t like them is that the ideas went right over most peoples heads. Those stories as told by Shyamalan held so much more importance and meaning than the average Joe seems to understand. I say this in Shyamalans defense. Maybe all you Shyamalan bashers out there shoul try watching those movies again only this time, pay a little attention, you might just find yourself captivated and move by a brilliant mind who was trying to show you something very important all along.
just to say that in this picture he is GORGEOUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! X1000000