Taylor Lautner, fresh off the success with “New Moon,” the second installment in “The Twilight Saga,” where he plays wolf Jacob Black, is poised to become the next big action star, with Paramount taking him on board an upcoming franchise, dealing with wonderboy Max Steel. Deadline Hollywood has learned that the studio wants Lautner for a 4-part film in the manner of “Spider-Man,” and is eager to get started on it.

Paramount is looking to bring new faces to the big screen and, at the same time, start successful franchises with new action heroes, the movie-oriented publication says. Of course, there’s no better way of doing that right now than by signing one of the hottest young stars of the moment who, aside from showing his true dedication to his art as far as physical requirements go, is also eager to prove himself to the industry.

“Paramount has confirmed to me exclusively that it’s hired 8-pack-abs Taylor Lautner for the lead in Max Steel, instantly creating perhaps the next young big action star. […] This is the Joe Roth-produced project based on the hugely successful Mattel property that’s an international bestseller. The movie will receive a major push planned as Mattel raises its stateside presence with the Paramount release,” the e-zine says.

“I’m told Max Steel will be a four-quadrant popcorn movie in the spirit of Iron Man about a 19-year-old extreme sports junkie recruited by a secret agency after an accident infects his body, leaving him with superhuman powers. The screenwriters are also young, Chad Damiani & JP Lavin, who started getting attention around town with their action-comedy script Kamikaza Love as well as Sons Of The Hammer and Capeshooters,” the same publication further informs.

Deadline Hollywood also claims that the recipe of bringing in a relatively new face to spearhead an action hero franchise is not new and has, so far, proved it is well worth the investment. We have Tobey Maguire in “Spider-Man” and Shia LaBoeuf in “Transformers” – and, soon enough, we’ll also have Taylor Lautner in “Max Steel.” Keep an eye on this space for more details on this.