Netflix has given a straight-to-series order to a Twilight animated series based on Stephenie Meyer’s 2020 novel Midnight Sun. The project, which has entered development at the global streamer, comes from Lionsgate Television whose movie studio sibling released The Twilight Saga.
Sinead Daly (Tell Me Lies) is writing and executive producing the adaptation of the Twilight companion novel, a retelling of Twilight from the perspective of Edward Cullen. Robert Pattison’s performance as Edward in the 2008 film Twilight was informed by Midnight Sun as Meyer shared her then-unfinished manuscript with the actor.
Meyer, creator of the best-selling Twilight book series that spawned Lionsgate’s multi-billion-dollar film franchise, is executive producing the animated series alongside Meghan Hibbett for Fickle Fish Films. Wyck Godfrey and Marty Bowen exec produce for Temple Hill Entertainment, Erik Feig and Samie Kim Falvey for Picturestart. Emily Wissink is overseeing for Picturestart. Temple Hill was a producer on The Twilight Saga movies; Feig worked on them in his role as Lionsgate Motion Picture Group co-president.
The Twilight series had been in the works at Lionsgate for more than a year and a half though no premise or writer have been revealed until now. The company’s Vice Chairman Michael Burns spoke about it during a Q&A at the Morgan Stanley media conference in March.
“We’re going to go out with the Twilight series, an animated series, I think there’ll be a lot of interest in that,” he said while also referencing plans to further expand fellow Lionsgate signature film franchise John Wick with another TV series as part of the company IP strategy. That series, John Wick: Under The High Table, was recently taken out to buyers.
Daly’s series writing credits also include The Walking Dead: World Beyond, Raised by Wolves and The Get Down. She is repped by WME and Kaplan/Perrone.
