‘Twilight’: Even Taylor Lautner Struggled With Jacob and Renesmee’s Relationship; ‘I Was So Confused’

Though there is plenty to unpack in the Twilight universe, most fans of the franchise are obsessed with the love triangle between vampire, Edward Cullen, mortal, Bella Swan, and werewolf, Jacob Black. Fans were primarily split into two camps: Team Edward and Team Jacob, each camp providing reasons why Bella should end up with their favorite character. But, even the most loyal Twilight fan probably couldn’t have predicted that Jacob would end up with Bella and Edward’s child, Renesmee.

Even though fans of The Twilight Saga couldn’t picture Jacob ending up with Renesmee, the half-human, half-vampire Cullen child, Stephanie Meyer (who authored all four books in the series) actually introduced the concept in the third book, “Eclipse”, by way of Jacob’s best friend and fellow werewolf, Quil Ateara. Jacob explains to Bella that Quil has imprinted on Emily Young’s two-year-old niece, Claire Young. Though Bella expresses discomfort by the idea, Jacob assures her that Quil’s feelings are anything but romantic, though they will grow that way when Emily grows up.

‘Twilight’ star, Taylor Lautner, was confused by Jacob’s imprinting at first

But even though Meyer explained the concept of imprinting, it was still a strange concept for fans to wrap their heads around. This was especially true after Jacob imprinted on newborn Renesmee. Many fans of The Twilight Saga felt that Meyer managed to ruin the series with that choice. In fact, even Taylor Lautner, who played Jacob Black in the films, had trouble getting used to Jacob’s imprinting at first.

“I remember the first time reading the book, the fourth book,” Lautner recalled in an interview with Collider, where he spoke about the final Twilight movie. “The fourth book came out, and I was like, ‘All right, what’s going to happen? What’s going to happen? Is Edward going to end up with Bella? Is Jacob going to end up with Bella?’ And I was so confused. I was like, ‘Wait. He’s trying to get Bella the whole time, and he strikes out so he goes with her child?’ It really took a second.”

Lautner shared that Bill Condon was very intentional about how he captured Jacob’s feelings for Renesmee on camera

Though Lautner was confused at first, he eventually came around to the idea. Once he realized that imprinting wasn’t necessarily romantic, he was able to wrap his head around Jacob and Renesmee’s connection. The Twilight star also shared that Bill Condon, who directed, Breaking Dawn – Part 1 and Breaking Dawn – Part 2,” helped viewers to better understand Jacob’s feeling for the child.

“But no, it is very… you have to tread lightly because it’s a very special thing, and it’s not romantic at all,” the Twilight star added about Jacob imprinting on a baby. “So we definitely had to film in a certain way, and I think that Bill did an incredible job with that.” We’re not surprised that Lautner, like many fans, felt it was bizarre that Jacob ended up with his best friend’s child. Fortunately, he was able to find a way to not make a strange situation creepier than it inherently was.