What Will Happen to Kellan Lutz and Nikki Reed After Twilight: Breaking Dawn?
Brad Sturdivant
April 21st, 2010
By: Brad Sturdivant
I have to say that these articles have been fun to write. I’ve been impressed with the responses I’ve gotten from them. I expected some blind hatred (which I’ve gotten), but I’ve been surprised with how some of these stars’ biggest fans can take a logical look at their careers and realize there are some trouble ahead for them.
I think the biggest question mark is still with the two biggest stars, Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart. I actually went back and watched a couple of Rob’s movies (LITTLE ASHES and HOW TO BE) and…wow…they were horrible. Hopefully you guys see something in him that I don’t. As for Taylor Lautner and Ashley Greene, I think most people agreed with my assessment and that we’re in kind of a “wait and see” mode.
The last of my three-part editorial is by far and away the hardest because they’re the “forgotten” stars of the series. The main four get so much credit, but these two have started to line up some projects that might shoot them past their co-stars if everything goes right.
KELLAN LUTZ
Before Twilight: I had never heard of Kellan before the Twilight series, but he’s been around for a while. He started out doing bit parts on TV shows, but then did a couple of tweenie-films with STICK-IT and ACCEPTED. His biggest break (before Twilight, obviously) was as Cpl. Lilley in ‘Generation Kill’, which gives hope that he has some acting talent.
After Twilight: Kellan has also done a fine job of lining up projects at a brisk pace. Following in Lautner’s “accept any offer” mold, Lutz has accepted parts in DEATHGAMES, WARRIOR, IMMORTALS and LOVE, WEDDING, MARRIAGE. So that’s two action movies and one rom-com, which isn’t bad for someone like Kellan. He’s already proven he can act, so getting a chance to shine in IMMORTALS should be a good break for him.
Prediction: This depends on what Kellan wants to do. I really think he could be a big action star in the vein of Dwayne Johnson or Jason Statham if he wants to go that route. There’s a void in the action movie genre that Kellan could fill. But we still need to see him carry his own film (DEATHGAMES should take care of that) before I have too much confidence. But his future is pretty bright and I give him a 50% chance of being relevant after TWILIGHT: BREAKING DAWN.
NIKKI REED
Before Twilight: Nikki probably had the most interesting and diverse career before Twilight. She broke onto the scene with 2003’s THIRTEEN, which she also wrote (at 13), then went away for a little bit and then came back in LORDS OF DOGTOWN. She’s done several smaller films, but hardly what I would consider a mainstream career.
After Twilight: Again, not a whole lot going on. She did a smaller film (LAST DAY OF SUMMER) and has a couple of upcoming projects; PRIVELEDGED and CHAIN LETTER, but I can’t say I’m blown away by either role. But I’m not sure this is because she’s intentionally not choosing bigger roles or if she’s not getting offers.
Prediction: Of the six stars I’ve talked about so far, I have to say that Nikki is the hardest to predict. I want to give her a lot of credit for THIRTEEN and say that she’ll have a career based off that alone. But I have to remind myself that THIRTEEN was seven years ago and she still hasn’t taken off. But with the Twilight films and some other projects coming up, I think Nikki has a good chance to break out of the mold and I give her a 60% chance of being relevant after Twilight: Breaking Dawn is over.
So now you might be wondering why I haven’t talked about Peter Facinelli, Anna Kendrick, Dakota Fanning or Michael Sheen. To be honest, I think all four of them have clearly distanced themselves from Twilight to the point that the saga now has no impact on them. For right or wrong, I think all of them will be fine from here on out.
Read part 1: Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart
Read part 2: Taylor Lautner and Ashley Greene
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