Has Taylor Lautner found another project to sink his teeth into? Rumor has it that the “Twilight” star may be the frontrunner to play the title role in Paramount’s “Max Steel,” based on Mattel’s action figure toy line. Lautner would play Josh McGrath, a 19-year-old extreme-sports athlete who is accidentally exposed to the unleashed power of nanotechological machines, which become part of him and give him increased strength, near-invulnerability and the ability to change his appearance. The Max Steel toy line first came out in 1999 and was shortly after turned into a CG-animated television series that ran from 2000-02. It also later spawned a video game and five animated movies, as well as the “Turbo Missions” series of one-minute clips that ran on the Cartoon Network last year. It’s worth noting that Paramount and other studios are eager to cast Lautner because he can bring young women into theaters, which works in his favor for this movie. Its no secret that Lautner is a huge celebrity right now, but his only other project in addition to the upcoming “Twilight” sequel “Eclipse” is a role in the romantic comedy “Valentine’s Day.” But that has already wrapped filming, so the actor has nothing on his calendar at the moment except for an upcoming hosting gig on “Saturday Night Live” next weekend.

In other related news, rumors are buzzing around the Internet today that Robert Pattinson is in talks with with director Robert Zemeckis to play legendary Beatle John Lennon in Disney’s 3-D remake of the classic cartoon “Yellow Submarine.” The original 1968 animated feature film is based on the music of “The Beatles.” However, the real members of the famous group only appeared in the closing scene of the film, with the Beatles characters in the film voiced by other actors. The new film is reportedly going to be set in Pepperland, an undersea paradise protected by Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. When the band are captured by the music-hating Blue Meanies, a soldier is sent to Liverpool to fetch the fab four, who hop in the submarine and save the day. The script has also been written by Zemeckis with a targeted 2012 release schedule. Also in the near future for Pattinson are the movies “Bel Ami” and the western “Unbound Captives” in addition to “Eclipse,” the third movie in the “Twilight” saga.

However, nothing has been confirmed as of now about Lautner’s or Pattinson’s involvement in the films. I personally think both boys have what it takes to fill the roles mentioned. While I’m definitely a Twi-hard, it would be nice to see them step away and branch out from the franchise.

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