Midnight Sun, a Twilight novel by Stephanie Meyer, is heading to the small screen at Netflix – in animated series form.
There was a time in the early 2010s when Twilight was just about the biggest film franchise around.
It comprises five films – 2008’s Twilight, directed by Catherine Hardwicke, 2009’s New Moon, directed by Chris Weitz, 2010’s Eclipse, directed by David Slade, and the two part finale Breaking Dawn, directed by Bill Condon and released in 2011 and 2012. Their success was such that two parody films were also released in quick succession, the much maligned Vampire’s Suck and Breaking Wind.
The films followed Kristen Stewart’s Bella Swan as she becomes romantically involved with vampire Edward Cullen, played by Robert Pattinson, and werewolf Jacob Black, played by Taylor Lautner. Which all leads to a battle with vampire coven The Volturi.
Adapted by future Jessica Jones creator Melissa Rosenberg, the large ensemble cast also included Billy Burke, Peter Facinelli, Nikki Reed, Ashley Greene, Elizabeth Reaser, Kellan Lutz and Michael Sheen. The films were hugely successful at the box office, with a combined total of over $3bn over the course of the franchise.
Read more: How Paramount missed out on making Twilight
It was reported in March that a television series was in the works, with Lionsgate Vice Chairman Michael Burns also confirmed that a John Wick television series was in development, which wouldn’t be related to last year’s prequel The Continental.
According to Deadline, Netflix has given a straight to series order to an animated series adapted from Meyer’s 2020 novel Midnight Sun, which retold the events of the original Twilight from the perspective of Edward.
Tell Me Lies writer Sinead Daly is scripting and executive producing the series. Meyer is onboard as an executive producer alongside Meghan Hibbett for Fickle Fish Films.
All five films in the Twilight saga are currently available to watch free of charge via Freevee on Amazon Prime.
