Cast Member Added to ‘Eclipse’ Plus ‘New Moon’ Image

Published by Jeff Leins on: July 17th, 2009

Summit Entertainment is gearing up for the August 17 start date for shooting on The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, the third installment in the popular vampire series.  Casting has already started and the first new member of the cast has been added to the Stephenie Meyer adaptation.

According to the Risky Business Blog, an unknown Australian actor named Xavier Samuel has scored the part of Riley, a good-looking college student converted to a newborn vampire.  He joins the legion of followers for Victoria, a bloody-thirsty villain seeking revenge on Bella (Kristen Stewart).  The army of powerful new vampires becomes the main conflict for her, Edward (Robert Pattinson), and Jacob (Taylor Lautner).

Like the members of the werewolf pack in The Twilight Saga: New Moon, Summit went with another unknown actor.  This will be his first role in the U.S. and it’ll be a doozy.  Expect Google to explode with searches of him and fans to scramble for glimpses of his previous Australian films.  His life just changed because he’s playing a small role from a teenage romance novel.  Also, is it me or is there something creepy about his eyes?

The Twilight Saga: Eclipse is scheduled for June 30, 2010.  David Slade (30 Days of Night) is directing.  Chris Weitz is helming the upcoming sequel and will be presenting new material for squealing fans at Comic-Con.  EMTs should be standing by when the fainting starts.

Below is another image from New Moon with Bella and Jacob cozy together in a car.  Via Hollywood Gossip.