Lautner the action star

Taylor Lautner is to star in a new action movie described as a teenage version of Taken meets Die Hard.

Summit Entertainment and Tailor Made Entertainment (which is Taylor's own production company that he runs with his father Dan) have bought an untitled script from writers Eric Champnella and Grant Thompson.

It tells the story of a young teenager whose dreams of becoming an elite solider are shattered because of an injury. However, when his girlfriend and her pals are kidnapped during a spring break trip and held to ransom for the release of a drug cartel leader, Taylor decides to rescue them - reports Variety.

Producer Wyck Godfrey said, "We wanted to continue working with Taylor and feel he's got the chops to become a big action star."

The New Moon hunk is also set to star in a live action version of the popular cartoon action series Max Steel.