Weitz made the announcement Wednesday on Stephenie Meyer's Web site. Meyer is the author of the wildly popular books on which "Twilight" and "New Moon" are based.

The director said in his Web posting that Lautner will reprise his role from the first film "with the enthusiastic support of Summit Entertainment, the producers, and Stephenie Meyer."

"The characters in Stephenie's books go through extraordinary changes of circumstance and also appearance; so it is not surprising that there has been speculation about whether the same actor would portray a character who changes in so many surprising ways throughout the series," Weitz noted. "But it was my first instinct that Taylor was, is, and should be Jacob, and that the books would be best served by the actor who is emotionally right for the part. I think that fans of 'Twilight' the book and the movie will be surprised by the Jacob Black that Taylor will bring to the screen in 'New Moon;' and I'm looking forward to working with him and the rest of the cast in realizing the film."