The worldwide black metal community, long divided by such burning issues as which bands are "true" and what bands are "cult," can now finally unite: Twilight heartthrob Jackson Rathbone will not play infamous black metal trailblazer/recently released prisoner/Burzum kingpin Varg Vikernes in an upcoming movie adaptation of the Lords of Chaos book. Seriously, all the black metallers around the world must be smiling all at once.
The book - which looks at the '90s Norwegian black metal scene, with its church burnings, murders, and prison sentences galore - was released in 1998 and has become a point of contention within black metal, with some claiming it's exploitative and inaccurate and others claiming it's a definitive tome.
However, no one in the metal world was likely thrilled when it was announced that Rathbone would be playing a main role in the movie, mainly just due to his unshakeable "teen heartthrob" tag. Beelzebub got the last laugh this time, though, as Rathbone can no longer do the filming due to scheduling conflicts, reports the Houston Chronicle [via Blabbermouth].
We can only guess those conflicts involve post-Twilight mania, but in the end we don't really care. We, like all black metal dudes around the world, are happy with the decision. Because while there is (thankfully) only one Varg (who also goes by the name of, uh, Count Grishnack), and if someone has to play him in a film, it's better that it's not a piece of tween bait. That's just wrong.
But there is a downside to this. As one user at Blabbermouth put it, "Fuck, now there won't even be any Lords of Chaos lunch boxes. Damn it."
The book - which looks at the '90s Norwegian black metal scene, with its church burnings, murders, and prison sentences galore - was released in 1998 and has become a point of contention within black metal, with some claiming it's exploitative and inaccurate and others claiming it's a definitive tome.
However, no one in the metal world was likely thrilled when it was announced that Rathbone would be playing a main role in the movie, mainly just due to his unshakeable "teen heartthrob" tag. Beelzebub got the last laugh this time, though, as Rathbone can no longer do the filming due to scheduling conflicts, reports the Houston Chronicle [via Blabbermouth].
We can only guess those conflicts involve post-Twilight mania, but in the end we don't really care. We, like all black metal dudes around the world, are happy with the decision. Because while there is (thankfully) only one Varg (who also goes by the name of, uh, Count Grishnack), and if someone has to play him in a film, it's better that it's not a piece of tween bait. That's just wrong.
But there is a downside to this. As one user at Blabbermouth put it, "Fuck, now there won't even be any Lords of Chaos lunch boxes. Damn it."