Has the Twilight Star-Makin' Machine Malfunctioned?

Has the Twilight Star-Makin' Machine Malfunctioned?



If you recall, we thought that when smoldering newcomer Xavier Samuel joined the cast of Eclipse last year, all hell would break loose when he became the next hot thing to infringe of Rob's precious territory.

Well, that was then. Zero tabloid drama and one Kate Gosselin haircut later, nobody's talking about Samuel—not even us.

So now that new guy Rami Malek—who we'll admit is quite the exotic-lookin' looker—is signed on for Breaking Dawn: Part II, is it too early to start swooning? Or is it just about time to start yawning?

We thought Twilight makes a star out of everyone, but that clearly wasn't the case with Samuel, or even with Bryce Dallas Howard (who was already a star, but no thanks to the vamp franchise). Fans just didn't embrace them with the cult following that they did for the main cast in the first few movies.

Rob, Kristen, Taylor, Nikki, Kellan and Ashley got the benefits of the Twilight star-making machine launching their careers, but has the engine since sputtered out?

Don't get us wrong—Twi is absolutely huge, and people will clamor for the autograph of the guy who was an extra behind Edward and Bella in chemistry class.

But if the rise-and-fall of potential heartthrob Samuel was any indication, we have to admit, we made a mistake by thinking too far ahead.

So Malek, we're not gonna even say a peep about you.

For one thing, it's too damn early, since the dude's not even in the first Breaking Dawn flick. But more importantly, we don't want to set up too high of expectations.

Because then we'll just be devastated when we're left with our mouths open, our tongues hanging, and our loins still burning for some hunky Twilight messy stuff.