Stephenie Meyer’s blockbuster Twilight franchise is heading to the small screen, and here are the details.
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 ifice, with a combined total of over three billion dollars over the course of the franchise.
Naturally, there have been discussions for years about a continuation. While it seeems very unlikely that the core cast will return, an animated television series is in the works at Lionsgate.
It will once again adapt author Stephanie Meyer’s novels – since the films were released, Meyer penned two further books as well. 2015’s Life and Death: Twilight Reimagined gender-swapped the two main characters, Bella and Edward. Meyer then released Midnight Sun in 2020, which told the story of the first book from Edward’s perspective rather than Bella’s.
Lionsgate Vice Chairman Michael Burns also confirmed that a John Wick television series was in the works, with would not be related to last year’s prequel The Continental.
We’ll keep you updated as we hear more.
