Back to Forks? Nearly 12 years after the final Twilight movie was released, Stephenie Meyer’s bestselling franchise is reportedly getting the TV series treatment.
A Twilight TV drama is in the early stages of development via Lionsgate Television, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The outlet noted on Wednesday, April 19, that the potential project is still in its “infancy” and does not have a network, platform or a writer attached yet.
Meyer, 49, released her first novel in the series, Twilight, in 2005. She went on to publish three more novels, After the vampire books hit the bestseller list, they were quickly optioned for film by Lionsgate.
The first flick, also titled Twilight, premiered in 2008. Directed by Catherine Hardwicke, the drama starred Kristen Stewart (Bella Swan), Robert Pattinson (Edward Cullen), Taylor Lautner (Jacob Black), Peter Facinelli (Carlisle Cullen), Ashley Greene (Alice Cullen), Nikki Reed (Rosalie Hale), Kellan Lutz (Emmett Cullen), Jackson Rathbone (Jasper Hale) and Elizabeth Reaser (Esme Cullen). Twilight’s widespread success led to follow-up films New Moon, Eclipse, Breaking Dawn: Part 1 and Breaking Dawn: Part 2.
Twilight followed teenager Bella Swan after she moved to Forks, Washington, and quickly formed a connection with vampire Edward Cullen and his coven. As Bella and Edward’s star-crossed romance heated up, the pair went on to get married in Breaking Dawn before conceiving their firstborn, daughter Renesmee (played by Mackenzie Foy).
The movie’s popularity quickly shot the cast to super-stardom, with Lutz, 38, telling Us Weekly that he’ll always fondly remember the small memories from set.
“I gotta say my favorite moments were during . . . the first movie, before any of this craze happened. We were just ourselves, no one really knew who we were yet,” the FBI alum previously told Us in August 2012. “We haven’t changed per se, but we were able to get away with a lot more. I remember Peter and Jackson and myself would go to different bars and different concerts. We’d go do karaoke all the time. … It’s a blessing, but it can be surreal sometimes.”
Meyer later released prequel Midnight Sun in August 2020, telling a darker version of the first Twilight story from Edward’s perspective, as well as a Short Second Life of Bree Tanner spinoff novella starring Eclipse vampire Bree Tanner.
“Edward comes across as very confident and sure of himself in Twilight, when the whole time he was actually wracked with doubt and guilt,” the Host author exclusively told Us amid the tome’s 2020 release. “I think readers will be surprised by his level of constant anxiety. While in Twilight, we got to see all of Bella’s second-guessing and hesitation, from Edward’s point of view Bella comes across as very serene and self-possessed.”
She added at the time: “Edward is absolutely certain that this story will not end well. He truly believes he’s living out a tragedy, and he sees no light at the end of the tunnel. He’s slightly hopeful for about three chapters and full of anxiety and dread for the other 27.”
After Breaking Dawn: Part 2 debuted in 2011, some cast members have since been eager to revisit their characters once more.
“I mean, I love [Midnight Sun]. I so wish we could make a movie with that. Emmett has so many more funny lines in that one. It’s awesome,” Lutz gushed during a panel appearance at Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo (C2E2) in December 2021.
Pattinson, however, thinks he’s “too old” to play Edward Cullen again. “I’d be curious what Stephenie would write, but I just think I’d probably be too old,” the England native, 36, previously told THR in February 2012. “I’m already too old. But yeah, it’d be kind of interesting [to revisit the character].”
