It looks as if the sun is setting on Taylor Lautner's frothy action flicks including "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn" and "Abduction" -- at least for his next project.

The chiseled actor will star in an indie film under the direction of Gus Van Sant, and will also reportedly serve as a producer.

A script is being developed from an optioned nonfiction New Yorker article, THR reports, and will give Lautner a chance to show some range. 

While wrapping up the "Twilight" franchise and keeping an eye on a still-gestating "Stretch Armstrong" over at Universal will still occupy the youngster's time, this left turn seems like a priority for Team Taylor.

A screenwriter has yet to be announced for the possible paradigm shift, but we can only take a leap and guess it's the wonderfully, um, verbal Dustin Lance Black -- who recently grabbed some attention over an Australian GQ cover story about Lautner.

Bringing up a recent dinner outing that saw Taylor breaking bread with openly gay Black and Van Sant, the writer of the GQ piece had asked the young star if his gay friends ever tried to make a pass. Black didn't appreciate the predatory insinuation. 

"Really Mr. GQ writer? I’m curious, will you be asking all of the handsome actors I’ve ever had the privilege of working with or meeting if I made passes at them as well?" Black said in a blog post in reaction. 

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-- Matt Donnelly
twitter.com/MattDonnelly

Photo: Taylor Lautner attends the September premiere of "Abduction" in Madrid. Credit: Carlos Alvarez / Getty Images