RUMOR MILL: SUMMIT KEEPS THE TWILIGHT FILM FRANCHISE GOING WITH BREE TANNER

Entertainment blog What’s Playing seems to have gotten a right nice TWILIGHT scoop for all you Twi-Hards, it seems that THE SHORT SECOND LIFE OF BREE TANNER might be coming to the big screen.

For those unaware, TANNER is a novella that takes place during and before ECLIPSE. If you caught ECLIPSE recently, you might remember that Bree Tanner was actually in the movie and was played by SILENT HILL actress Jodelle Ferland. And if that doesn’t jog your memory, Tanner was the little girl that (SPOILER ALERT!!) refuses to fight in the big werewolf VS vampire brawl and gets mind-murdered by Dakota Fanning.

And if that doesn’t help, then you probably should move along because, chances are, you’re not a TWILIGHT fan. And if that’s the case, I posted some nice FRIGHT NIGHT news earlier, not to mention a lovely Olivia Munn pictorial.

Anyways, chock this wonder under the rumor category till confirmed by Summit, but I wouldn’t doubt that this is actually in motion. TWILIGHT is big business for Summit, and with only two more movies left (that would be the BREAKING DAWN two-fer) and no sequel books in the pipeline, they’ve got to be worried.

Unfortunately, if you’ve read TANNER, you already know what the problem with turning it into a movie is: it’s just too short. 178 pages short, to be exact and some it overlaps with ECLIPSE. And while re-using footage from ECLIPSE might not be a problem, it is a problem when Summit is reportedly considering re-casting the role.

Yeah, you read that right, “re-casting”. Turns out, they want someone bigger than the little girl from SILENT HILL headlining a new TWILIGHT flick and they’ve set their sights high. The two names that are reportedly on the short-list for the lead are Elle Fanning and Chloe Moretz. Moretz is hot stuff right now, having played “Hit Girl” earlier this year in KICK-ASS and headlining LET ME IN this October. Not to mention the fact that she’s starring in THE INVENTION OF HUGO CABARET for Martin Scorsese. I doubt highly that Summit will land her, unless maybe she’s a Twi-Hard and is dying to appear in one of the flicks.

As for Fanning, that’s just creepy. The character of Tanner is killed by Jane in the books and the movie, and if Fanning is cast, that means that she’ll be murdered by her real-life sister. Adds and extra layer of “ick” to the whole scene, but who knows? Maybe that’s what Summit is aiming for.

Personally, re-casting the role seems pretty daft. TWILIGHT fans didn’t dig the last cast switch-up (that would be Rachelle Lefevre being replaced by Bryce Dallas Howard in ECLIPSE) and they’ll probably not enjoy another facelift. What’s stranger is that Ferland (pictured above) is a solid name, so why not just keep her? It certainly can’t be the age issue because that gal has looked the same for nearly a decade now.

Regardless, this one is purely a rumor for now, but don’t be shocked if it turns out to be true.

[via What’s Playing]