Summit Entertainment have confirmed the names of those who will play members of the wolf pack in New Moon, quite obviously (and as you very well know) the sequel to Twilight. And, if you’re looking for known names, you’re in for a surprise—there aren’t any. Or, at the very least, these names are not as big as expected.
Joining Taylor Lautner as part of the wolf pack are Chaske Spencer, Bronson Pelletier (a name that we have reported previously), Alex Meraz, Kiowa Gordon and Tyson Houseman. Never mind the fact that these names are strangers to most, if not all, of us—I had a particularly hard time looking for their better photos, and I ended up having fairly good snaps of the first two. The important thing here is, all five actors are Native American, tying in perfectly with their ethnicity as described by Stephenie Meyer in her book.
Here’s how it actually breaks down. Spencer, who’s appeared in the television miniseries Into the West, is of Lakota descent. Pelletier, who was part of the Canadian series Renegadepress.com, is of Cree-Matis descent. Meraz, who played a small role in the Oscar-nominated flick The New World, is of Purepecha descent. Gordon—well, I couldn’t find anything about her—is of Hualapai descent. Finally, Houseman—I also couldn’t find anything about him, but he was found through an open casting call—is of Cree descent.
It’s a good thing that the producers of New Moon have decided to stick with what the book says and take Native American actors. There’s been criticism for decisions that go opposite of this—the film adaptation of the Nickelodeon series Avatar: The Last Airbender has been criticized for casting Caucasian actors, instead of sticking to the original’s Asian characters, perhaps in an effort to make it more marketable. At least this lends to the authenticity that the producers of New Moon have definitely been searching for. Now, if they can only get to shooting quickly—it’s supposed to have started over this weekend, and with a November 20 release date, time is pretty short…
-Henrik Batallones, BuddyTV Staff Columnist
Source: SlashFilm
(Images courtesy of NativeVue and Dose.ca)
Staff Writer, BuddyTV
