Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight universe is getting a remake as a TV show, and its weirdest decision so far actually has one huge advantage over the Twilight Saga. In 2005, Stephenie Meyer shared her version of vampires and werewolves in Twilight, a fantasy romance novel set in a world where these classic “monsters” coexist with humans – except that the latter aren’t aware of it. The focus of the Twilight novels and movies is the romance between mortal Bella Swan and vampire Edward Cullen, who end up teaming up with werewolves to defend their family from other vampire clans.
Meyer’s Twilight book series made the jump to the big screen between 2008 and 2012, with the fourth novel, Breaking Dawn, split into two parts. The Twilight Saga wasn’t a hit with critics but was a box office success, and though it definitely has its flaws, it continues to be quite popular. Now, over a decade after the saga ended, a Twilight reboot, though now on TV, is in development. The latest update on the Twilight TV remake caught everyone by surprise as it was revealed to be an animated series, but as weird as this is, it actually gives it a huge advantage over the movies.
Twilight’s Animated Remake Has More Creative Freedom Than The Movies
The TV remake of Twilight was announced in April 2023, but not many updates had been given since then until now. According to Lionsgate Vice Chairman Michael Burns, the Twilight TV show will be an animated series, which according to Deadline, has been the plan from the beginning. However, that’s all that’s known about the Twilight TV remake so far, as no actors have been cast yet, and it’s unclear how many episodes it will have and how much of the book series it will cover.
The reveal of the Twilight TV remake being animated caused a lot of confusion among fans and casual viewers, as when the project was announced, it was assumed it would be a live-action version, just like the movies. However, as strange as this decision is, it’s actually quite beneficial to the project. When the Twilight book series was brought to life in The Twilight Saga, the biggest questions and concerns were how Edward and Bella’s world was going to be portrayed realistically and believably.
An animated format gives the Twilight TV remake a lot more creative freedom, allowing it to explore the novels’ most extravagant elements.
The quality of the visual effects of the Twilight Saga decreased in each movie, and it was clear that there were elements from Meyer’s world that were very hard to bring to life in a believable way. An animated format gives the Twilight TV remake a lot more creative freedom, allowing it to explore the novels’ most extravagant elements without the pressure of making them look real and believable. This not only lets the Twilight TV remake be more loyal to the source material, but it can also make up for some of the movie’s biggest visual mistakes.
Twilight’s Animated Remake Risks Making The Movies’ Problems Even Bigger
The Twilight movies were criticized for how ridiculous and inconsistent some of their fantasy elements were.
Despite this creative advantage, the Twilight animated TV show is also risking making the movie’s problems even worse. The Twilight Saga is still very popular and has a solid fanbase, but its flaws can’t be denied. Aside from how toxic Bella and Edward’s relationship was, the Twilight movies were criticized for how ridiculous and inconsistent some of their fantasy elements were, such as the vampires’ sparkly skin, the werewolves’ transformation, the vampires’ powers, and more. Depending on the animation style and the writers’ approach, the Twilight TV show could make all those fantasy elements even more laughable.
The reasons for Lionsgate making its Twilight TV remake an animated one are unknown, but it will, without a doubt, differentiate itself from the movies. An animated Twilight TV series is a big risk, but with the right style and approach, it can do all those things that the movies weren’t able to.
