While the live-action Twilight films successfully brought these stories to the screen, the upcoming animated series promises to tap into its potential for a more fantastical and compelling adaptation. This medium offers a unique opportunity to faithfully capture the eerie beauty of the vampire world, explore the Twilight characters’ inner depths, and create a captivating experience that surpasses its live-action predecessors.
Twilight’s upcoming remake has been called “confusing,” with Lionsgate baffling viewers by deviating from the original live-action format. The Twilight book series made its cinematic debut between 2008 and 2012, concluding with the two-part adaptation of Breaking Dawn. While the films received mixed critical reviews, they were commercial successes, and the Twilight saga remains a popular franchise. Over a decade later, the announcement of an animated series came as a surprise – but it offers a fresh perspective on the books and could outdo the films creatively.
Animation Is Actually The Best Way To Adapt The Twilight Books (Not Live-Action)
A composite image features Edward, Bella, and Jacob of the Twilight movies over the Twilight book covers
Many aspects of the Twilight franchise are visually stunning – especially in the first movie, which had a distinctive aesthetic. The blue tint made it immersive, and the colored contacts and pale makeup made the Cullens look as otherworldly and weird as they should be. However, different settings and directorial tastes were explored as it progressed. This made for inconsistencies with the characters’ appearance, regardless of what the different eye colors mean in Twilight. In addition, Kristen Stewart getting a mullet for Eclipse resulted in one of the most infamous wigs in recent movie history.
This shows that a big budget is not everything – and that animation has so much more scope to fulfill its visual potential. Whereas the Twilight franchise went back and forth on makeup decisions to adapt the vampires to different lighting situations, the sky is the limit with animation. Other difficulties, such as conveying the vampire/human hybrid baby Renesmee, would also translate better to this creative medium, as there’s no need for the shelved animatronic Breaking Dawn horror.
Twilight Wouldn’t Have Become Such A Big Franchise Without Live-Action Adaptations
While the books were an unprecedented success and changed vampire fiction irreversibly, the Twilight series’ widespread popularity was solidified by its live-action film adaptations. While an animated series could have offered a creative perspective, bringing the novels to the big screen first made sense commercially. Live-action has a broader appeal, allowing Twilight to capture a wider audience. Moreover, the ability to cast well-known actors and leverage their star power significantly contributed to the franchise’s success. Although Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart were well-established actors before, Twilight was undeniably a breakthrough for them both.
[Edward] has a rather snarky internal monologue in Midnight Sun, which could be the basis for a more compelling antihero.
Regardless, now is a great time to revisit the series with a fresh approach to adapting the books. Since the Twilight movies ended with Breaking Dawn: Part 2, Stephenie Meyer has published Midnight Sun, which added to the franchise as Twilight told from Edward’s point of view. This provides more source material for character exploration, particularly Edward’s backstory with Carlisle. He also has a rather snarky internal monologue in Midnight Sun, which could be the basis for a more compelling antihero – the film adaptations had a limited scope to explore the characters beyond broad strokes.
