UPDATE: Variety has confirmed Michael Sheen has indeed been cast in New Moon as Aro, the leader of the Volturi, an Italy-based coven of vampires.
London’s The Daily Mail is reporting Michael Sheen has been cast as Aro, the leader of the Italian vampire clan the Volturi, in Summit Entertainment’s The Twilight Saga: New Moon. The site goes on to saw New Moon director Chris Weitz confirmed Sheen’s casting saying he had ‘aggressively’ pursued the actor.
Sheen is no stranger to the world of vampires having played the werewolf Lucian in the Underworld franchise in which he battled vampires and also made love with them in the most recent installment Underworld: Rise of the Lycans, which hits DVD and Blu-ray on May 12. Of course Sheen is even better known for his dramatic roles having most recently played journalist David Frost in Frost/Nixon as well as Tony Blair in The Queen.
“Michael’s role is so important because he’s the head of all vampires,” Weitz told The Mail. “Aro is, on the surface, a very gracious and friendly vampire, but beneath that he is a tremendous threat.”
The site reports Sheen will be paid £5 million for the role.
New Moon is the second installment of the filmed franchise Twilight the action-packed, modern day vampire love story, and already includes a large cast of names including Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart returning as Edward and Bella respectively as well as Taylor Lautner, Jackson Rathbone, Dakota Fanning, Chaske Spencer, Bronson Pelletier, Alex Meraz, Kiowa Gordon, Tyson Houseman and Jamie Campbell-Bower.
New Moon hits theaters on November 20.
