UPDATE: Taylor will be keeping his job after all.

If Taylor Lautner’s really at risk of losing his job, the Twilight actor is not going to go down without a fight. Or at least an extra push-up.

In an interview last week with MTV, the 16-year-old addressed rumors that he may be left out of the upcoming sequel. According to a recent report in Entertainment Weekly, the studio was looking to find someone else to tackle Jacob Black’s beefier role in New Moon. Since that time, Michael Copon (Scorpion King 2) and Ben Barnes’ (Prince Caspian) names have been thrown out as possible replacements. (Copon has even gone so far as to imply on his own Facebook page that he was already given the role.)

But until he hears the final word from new director Chris Weitz, Lautner intends to prove that he is ready for his character’s physical and emotional transformation. “I have been working out. I’ve been working out since the day we finished filming Twilight. I just weighed myself today; I’ve put on 19 pounds,” Taylor told MTV. “I’m guaranteeing Weitz 10 more [pounds] by filming. I get to meet Chris on Friday, in two days, so I’m excited. I’m going to have lunch with him.”

So was Lautner’s thicker build enough to impress Weitz during their sit-down last weekend? I guess we’ll find out soon enough. (Production should begin by March.) Until then, Taylor loyalists will undoubtedly keep telling Copon what they really think of him.