'The Twilight Saga: Eclipse' -- Meet Riley

There's a new Twi-guy in town, and ladies, he's quite the bad boy!

 "The Twilight Saga: Eclipse" introduces new villain Riley (adorable Aussie Xavier Samuel). The character doesn't have a huge part in Stephenie Meyer's third novel, but it looks like he's getting a bigger part in the movie adaptation. Riley is spotted a handful of times in the film's second official trailer, and he was in one of only two character photos that director David Slade shared on  Twitter (in case you're wondering, the other photo was of Taylor Lautner as Jacob). Now Riley has his very own "Eclipse" poster. All this exposure for the character begs the question: Who exactly is Riley?

In the story of "Eclipse," Victoria's still bent out of shape over the death of her beau James in "Twilight," which she blames on Bella. All of her previous attempts to exact revenge upon Edward for killing her mate failed. Not easily deterred, Victoria travels to the Seattle area and creates an army of newborn bloodsuckers, hoping that with their aid she'll finally be able to defeat the Cullens and kill Bella. One of the first humans Victoria turns into a vampire is Riley Biers (the character didn't have a last name in the book), described as young, handsome, and (after being turned into a vampire) with bright red eyes.
As the more mature newborn, Riley is tasked to retrieve Bella's scent and later, corral the rest of the newborns to Forks for a showdown against the Cullens/La Push wolf pack alliance. "Audiences can expect a vicious battle," says Samuel, "And I think audiences can also expect a few surprises. Riley and his newborn army are an unstoppable force."
But there's more to this vampire baddie... he's in love!
Not only is Riley Victoria's right-hand vamp, he's also her puppet boy. He loves her and serves her faithfully, but of course she's still in love with James and is only using Riley to get him to do what she wants. "Remembering that Riley still has some human blood pumping through his veins was an important thing to consider when I was approaching the role," Samuel shares. "He's not a purely evil monster."

Come to think of it, maybe Riley's not a villain after all. Perhaps all the attention he's getting in the film will set up his story as one of betrayal, despair, and heartbreak. Whatever it's going to be, I'm excited and can't wait to see how it all pans out on the big screen.
What do you think? Are you more invested in the character of Riley?

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