Taylor Lautner Seals the Deal on ‘Stretch Armstrong’

While any true “Twilight” fan knows Taylor Lautner was a child martial arts superstar, it wasn’t until his recent gig hosting “SNL” that the rest of the nation got to see his physical capabilities. And, according to Hasbro CEO and “Stretch Armstrong” producer Brian Goldner, it was that exhibition of skill that earned him the role of title Stretch.

“He is a real actor,” Brian told MTV News of Tay
lor, who showed his allegiance to Hasbro yesterday at the Toy Fair. “And it was so clear to us as we saw him in ‘Twilight.’ And we look for insights from every audience about where we should go with our brands, so when I saw my daughter and all of her friends go crazy for him, and then I saw the background that he was also this mixed martial arts expert in that ‘Saturday Night Live’ piece… that was the real deal.”

The “Stretch Armstrong” deal came shortly after Taylor signed on to bring another toy superhero to the big screen, Mattel’s “Max Steel.” Taylor’s strong fan following and physical attributes were sure to help the decision-making process, but Brian said Taylor’s aerobic capabilities were just one of many parallels he saw between Taylor and Stretch Armstrong. Taylor

“He’s an accidental superhero. Really what he is, is he’s going to be a guy much like himself,” Brian explained. “A guy who knows mixed martial arts, a guy who is going off to college, a guy who’s trying to have a freshman year at college something along those lines and everything kind of ensues from there.”

We doubt with all his upcoming films the newly legal Taylor will have time to become a college undergrad, but still we think the parallels fit. And we’re glad that “SNL’s” cultural impact has extended to earning a deserving young actor one more role to add to his filmography.