Last year’s Twilight introduced Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) to a secret world of vampires living tenuously among humans in the Pacific Northwest town of Forks — both “vegetarian” vampires like the members of the Cullen clan, and their more dangerous, blood-drinking brethren — and she fell in love with one of their kind, Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson). In this November’s The Twilight Saga: New Moon, Bella discovers that yet another supernatural community is hidden within Forks… and that even more danger lies across the globe in Italy, where an ancient coven of vampires known as the Volturi could threaten the futures of Bella and the Cullens. Meet the new characters and cast members of New Moon inside!
Be warned, Twilight newbies: mild spoilers contained within.
As New Moon opens, Edward realizes that Bella will never be out of danger as long as they are together, and decides to leave town. Despondent over Edward’s absence, Bella grows close to Jacob Black (Taylor Lautner), a Quileute teen with strong bloodlines going through difficult changes of his own. You see, the Quileute Indians harbor ancient secrets and have their own supernatural legacy to protect; many among them are werewolves, whose ranks grow to match the threat of their natural enemies… vampires. Spending time with Jacob, Bella gets to know more of the Quileute community, including a group of young men known as the Wolf Pack. Below, meet the new faces of New Moon‘s Wolf Pack/Quileute nation.
SAM ULEY
Played by: Chaske Spencer
Chaske Spencer (pronounced Chas-K, according to a 2007 interview) replaces actor Solomon Trimble (who appeared in one scene in Twilight) as Quileute/Wolf Pack leader Sam Uley. (Filmmakers also considered re-casting the pivotal role of Jacob before Lautner beefed up enough to prove he could portray the bigger, stronger version of the character.) Spencer will be stepping into a role that should be considerably more significant in this and future sequels, as Sam Uley leads the Quileute werewolves, including the younger Jacob, in their ancestral opposition to the vampire race. He previously appeared in the TV miniseries Into the West.
EMBRY CALL
Played by: Kiowa Gordon
Also replacing one of the first film’s Wolf Pack members is newcomer Kiowa Gordon, a 19-year-old Arizona native who will play Jacob’s friend Embry Call (previously played by Krys Hyatt). Embry, a younger member of the Wolf Pack and one of Jacob’s best friends, appears in New Moon and its next sequel, Eclipse. When shape-shifters in the same pack are in werewolf form, they can share each other’s thoughts as one.
JARED
Played by: Bronson Pelletier
Canadian actor Bronson Pelletier will portray Jared, a senior member of the Wolf Pack under leader Sam. Previously seen on Canadian shows Dinosapien and renegadepress.com, Pelletier plays one of a few Quileute members who demonstrate the phenomenon of “imprinting” — sort of like love at first sight for shape-shifters — in the Twilight saga.
PAUL
Played by: Alex Meraz
The pack’s most volatile and anger-prone member, Paul will be played by Alex Meraz, an actor whose background in dance and mixed martial arts will likely help scenes in which Paul, a shape-shifter, morphs between human and wolf form. Meraz appeared in Terrence Malick’s 2005 period piece The New World and has reportedly worked with stunt choreographer Andy Cheng, who directed action scenes in the first Twilight film.
QUIL ATEARA
Played by: Tyson Houseman
Newcomer Tyson Houseman nabbed the role of Quil Ateara, a close friend of Jacob’s who is left out of the loop as his fellow Quileute teens undergo their werewolf transformations and learn the tribe’s shape-shifting secrets. The stage actor might need to follow Lautner’s lead and grow into his role for future sequels, but for now he seems physically suited to play Quil, who in the books interacts with not only Jacob and the Quileute but Bella Swan.
HARRY CLEARWATER
Played by: Graham Greene
New Moon‘s Quileute community will get a familiar face in veteran actor Graham Greene, who signed on as tribal elder Harry Clearwater. An old fishing buddy of Charlie Swan (remember his famous fish fry?), Harry holds the secrets of the Quileute shape-shifters, from whom he is descended. Greene previously earned an Oscar nomination for his work in 1990’s Dances with Wolves.
EMILY YOUNG
Played by: Tinsel Korey
Canadian singer-actress Tinsel Korey will play Emily Young, a Quileute woman who is also Sam Uley’s fiancée. She bears a facial scar given to her by Sam, who accidentally injured her while “phasing” between his human and wolf forms — one of the many dangers of being in close proximity to, and in a relationship with, a shape-shifter.
Next: Dakota Fanning, Michael Sheen lead the menacing vampires of the Volturi
Equally if not more threatening than the Quileute shape-shifters (at least, to the Cullen clan) are the Volturi, a powerful coven of vampires who live in the Italian city of Volterra, unbeknownst to its human population. The Volturi, led by three ancient vampires — Aro, Caius, and Marcus — effectively rule the global vampire populace by enforcing their commonly accepted bylaws, punishing those among them whose actions threaten their secret existence. If a vampire were to provoke the Volturi by breaking one of their laws, his punishment would be death…
ARO
Played by: Michael Sheen
BAFTA-nominated actor Michael Sheen is no stranger to supernatural tales, having played the werewolf Lucien in the Underworld series (he also played interviewer David Frost in the Oscar-nominated Frost/Nixon). This time, we’ll see Sheen as Aro, one of the most powerful vampires in the world who also happens to have the nifty ability to read anyone’s mind through physical contact. The fate of future Twilight sequels, notably Breaking Dawn, will depend largely on how effectively screenwriter Melissa Rosenberg integrates the Volturi coven into New Moon, but in casting Sheen, Summit Entertainment has scored a respectable villain upon whom the backbone of the Volturi world will rest.
JANE
Played by: Dakota Fanning
Another major casting coup comes in the form of Dakota Fanning, who at the age of 15, is one of New Moon‘s most seasoned veteran actors. She’ll play Jane, a diminutive young vampire whose stature belies her lethal ability to inflict psychic pain on anyone, making her one of the Volturi’s strongest enforcers. Jane appears childlike — the Volturi “turned” her at a young age in order to recruit her — but is cunning and sadistic. Fanning has done creepy before (see: Hide and Seek) and has proven herself a talented actress, so this could be one of New Moon‘s best casting decisions yet.
ALEC
Played by: Cameron Bright
Joining Dakota Fanning as a childlike Volturi assassin is Cameron Bright, who, like Fanning, is well-versed in the art of portraying creepy kids (and like her, has done so opposite Robert De Niro). The 16-year-old actor (Godsend, Birth, Ultraviolet) will play Alec, Jane’s twin brother and fellow Volturi agent. Like Jane, Alec also has a unique power and can immobilize enemies by numbing their senses with his mind. Although Alec’s presence in the Twilight books is small, he reappears in later installments.
CAIUS
Played by: Jamie Campbell Bower
Sweeney Todd actor Jamie Campbell Bower nabbed the role of Caius, a Volturi ancient who rules alongside Aro and Marcus. The three are old acquaintances of Carlisle Cullen, who spent time learning from and debating with the Volturi leaders before parting to live his conscientious vampire lifestyle in America. Caius, described as being white-haired and nearly translucent, could be a good fit for Bower, who moonlights as the lead singer of the band The Darling Buds and whose glam-rock style could fit well with the character. Bower is also slated to appear as Dumbledore’s BFF-turned-frenemy Gellert Grindelwald in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
MARCUS
Played by: Christopher Heyerdahl
Television watchers might recognize Christopher Heyerdahl from guest roles on shows like Smallville, Supernatural, and Are You Afraid of the Dark? as well as feature films including Blade: Trinity. In New Moon, Heyerdahl plays Marcus, the third de facto leader of the Volturi. Marcus has the unique power to “see” relationships between people — a proclivity toward the ties that bind that might explain why, since the death of his own mate, Marcus has become generally apathetic to the world and to the affairs of the vampire world.
DEMETRI
Played by: Charlie Bewley
Tall and lean, the Volturi tracker Demetri is one of the Italian vampires’ best trackers (meaning he is skilled at hunting his prey, much like Twilight‘s James). However, not much is known about newcomer Bewley, so this is one casting choice we’ll have to wait until November to evaluate.
FELIX
Played by: Daniel Cudmore
The imposing actor Daniel Cudmore (X-Men‘s Colossus) has been cast as the imposing Volturi vampire Felix, a particularly aggressive member of the Volturi guard who Bella, Alice, and Edward meet in Volterra. The Canadian former rugby player is physically well-suited to play Felix, although like many members of the Volturi in New Moon, it remains to be seen exactly how much of a presence he’ll have in Rosenberg’s script.
HEIDI
Played by: Noot Seear
Twenty-five-year old runway model Noot Seear scored the role of Heidi, a Volturi agent who lures unsuspecting Volterra humans to their deaths below the city. It’s a minor role, but one with its own fair share of buzz, as rumors had pegged 90210 actress AnnaLynne McCord as a front runner to play the violet-eyed Volturi “hunter.”
OFFICIAL SYNOPSIS: In NEW MOON, Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) is devastated by the abrupt departure of her vampire love Edward (Robert Pattinson) but her spirit is rekindled by her growing friendship with the irresistible Jacob Black (Taylor Lautner). Suddenly she finds herself drawn into the world of the werewolves, ancestral enemies of the vampires, and she finds her loyalties tested.
For more Twilight news and features, check out RT’s Twilight Corner and follow us on Twitter. New Moon opens November 20, 2009.
