The Twilight Saga, based on Stephenie Meyer’s same-titled book series, premiered in 2008 starring Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson. The series received much criticism for its plot and acting but it became a cult classic nevertheless and its popularity is still stronger than ever.
Banking on the reboot trend, a few months after the announcement that its then-rival series Harry Potter would get a new adaptation, Lionsgate confirmed Twilight would return, too. Later news revealed that the new project would turn the novels into an animated series. Now Deadline confirmed further details about the plot and confirmed it will not follow the same story but adapt the 2020 novel Midnight Sun.
Catherine Hardwicke, director of the first Twilight movie, reveals how the “spider-monkey” line came to be and how Robert Pattinson was involved.
The book series, which included Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, and Breaking Dawn, also included a retelling of the first book from the perspective of Edward Cullen, played by Robert Pattinson. The new animated series will now adapt Midnight Sun, which was over a decade in the works before its 2020 release. The novel included further details about Bella and Edward’s romance, his time away from her, and how he fell in love with her.
Tell Me Lies‘ Sinead Daly will be in charge of writing and executive producing the new project, which comes from Lionsgate Television. Series author Meyer will executive produce the animated series, alongside Meghan Hibbett, Wyck Godfrey, Marty Bowen, Erik Feig, Samie Kim Falvey, and Emily Wissink.
Midnight Sun Animated Series Will Give Twilight a Fresh Perspective
Despite being critically panned, Twilight remains a comfort series to many, well over a decade since the last film, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part 2, premiered in 2012. The films were huge commercial successes, but they hardly needed a reboot. However, giving it an animated touch was a clever idea. Now, with Midnight Sun getting an adaptation, Netflix has an opportunity to further explore details that were left in 2008’s Twilight.
The series can further focus on the Cullen vampires’ family dynamics but also improve their skills without limitation. Of course, Edward’s sparkly skin of a killer could look even better in the animated version. With a bigger platform, the series can further explore Bella and Edward’s relationship, which initially drew criticism over how quickly they became infatuated with one another.
