Kellan Lutz has left his Twilight past and jumped into the land of Hercules. Long known for his role as vampire Emmett Cullen in The Twilight Saga series of films, he now stars as Hercules in The Legend of Hercules, which opened in theaters nationwide on Friday.

“It’s the hero’s journey – you have the wizard, you have the antagonist, that’s the king, and you have the different missions he has to go through and the love interest in Princess Hebe. Story-wise, it’s all there, that’s what drew me to it,” Lutz said in a recent interview with Reuters. “I knew when I saw the superheroes that I wanted to fight against injustice. So from a young age, I always wanted to make the world a better place like Captain Planet would do, or He-Man, or Tarzan or Hercules.”

How difficult do you suppose it will be for Twilight fans to see The Legend of Hercules and not think of Kellan Lutz as Emmett Cullen? Might he wind up as typecast as some feared Robert Pattinson would? It’s often difficult when beloved actors switch from long term roles into one that is fresh and new. Hopefully this will break the vampire’s spell on Kellan Lutz and make him a hit on the big screen as a hero this time around.

Kellan certainly convinced a reporter that he has Herculean strength during a recent interview. When she asked if he performed his own stunts in the film, he lifted her off the floor–chair and all.

Have you checked out Kellan Lutz in The Legend of Hercules? Do you think he will do the role justice or should he stick to playing a vampire and fighting the Volturi instead?

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