When Twilight came out, I was completely overwhelmed. Perhaps even a little spoiled: not only had I been waiting my entire life for a cinematic adaptation of The Twilight Saga, but I also knew that the upcoming film would be the most expensive of all time. When the movie finally aired, I had watched it in theaters in LA and NYC, and I had spent the better part of the summer between high school and college just trying on different costumes and making up witty comebacks for the characters. It was only then that I realized just how much work my fellow fans had put in to make sure that Twilight would live on film, and how much effort we would need to put in to make sure that Breaking Dawn – Part 2 would live up to expectations. As I went through the motions of my daily routine, I couldn’t help but think about all of the people who had worked so hard to make sure that my favorite novel would be brought to the big screen, and how much pressure there was to make sure that the finished product would be good enough to satisfy not only me, but the entire fandom.
Why Was Twilight Such A Big Deal When It First Came Out?
When Breaking Dawn – Part 1 came out in 2008, it wasn’t just a new installment in a popular series, it was the culmination of a decade-long effort to bring Stephenie Meyer’s saga to the big screen. Even then, the film wasn’t entirely unexpected: not only had the novels been a popular success, but the studio that would become Summit had already acquired the film rights back in 2003, as the author was looking for a new home after the debacle that was the Fantastic Four movie. Despite this, the timing was still somewhat surprising; after all, Twilight was an “Older Adult” series for a long time, and usually isn’t considered as a movie franchise.
In the years that followed, fans would spend hundreds of hours debating the merits of different casting choices, plot twist approaches, and which actors would be the best fit for which characters. One of the main draws of the series, aside from the gorgeous human-vampire romance, is the rich world-building that Stephenie Meyer has put in, which would certainly be hard to put into video format. While there weren’t any major plot surprises in 2008’s Breaking Dawn – Part 1, it still managed to be an exciting movie to watch, mainly because of all of the speculation that went into it. For those who had been following along for the last decade, it was a culmination of everything they had hoped for – and more.
How Is The Movie Different From The Books?
Even before the movie came out, fans were debating the merits of the adaptation, and whether or not it would live up to their expectations. After all, there are very few books that can truly capture an audience the way that Twilight and its sequels did – especially since the main series was originally published in a serialized format, and can only be fully appreciated by readers who dedicate themselves to it. When the movie adaptation finally came out, it was a completely different animal, and it wasn’t just the size of the audience that made the difference: even then, Twilight was unlike anything that had ever been seen before, and it broke several movie records upon its premiere.
One of the most obvious differences is in the scope of the story: Twilight covers the first two books in the series, and while it doesn’t stray far from the general plotlines, it does feel a little lighter and more entertaining than the original installment. It also benefits from the fact that it’s longer, which gives the filmmakers more room to include all of the necessary plot twists and turns that make up a typical Twilight saga. Another difference is the addition of new characters, many of whom are quite intriguing: the most notable new character is, obviously, werewolves, and it’s quite an interesting take on the species, especially since it’s a cross between man and animal. Another new character is Gisele, a sexy, succubus-type vampiress who feeds off of men’s sexual desire, which makes her the ultimate female anti-heroine. There are also some interesting twists in the way that vampires are portrayed in the film: while most people think of vampires in terms of the classics from the 1990s, like Louis Vuitton and Jacob Black, Meyer gives us a much more diverse group of vampires, with some nice nods to classic film noir.
What Does The Future Hold For The Series?
Once you’ve seen Twilight, then the next logical step is to go and see the rest of the series. Like many “classic” movie series, like Star Wars or Harry Potter, the popularity of the Twilight series made the idea of a “sequel” a sure thing: even before the movie had been released, fans were already clamoring for more. While there are no concrete plans regarding future installments at this time, it would not be surprising to see a sequel eventually emerge: not only do the books have a very established audience, but Meyer has said that there is plenty more story to tell, and she has even gone as far as to say that this is the beginning of the end, and that she plans on finishing the series after Breaking Dawn – Part 2.
If there is one thing that the Twilight series has proven to be, it’s that it’s very difficult to kill off one of the major characters. Fans were understandably upset when it was first announced that Taylor Lautner would be exiting the series, only for Jacob Black to pop up in the next movie – and even moreso when it was revealed that the werewolf character would be getting his own spin-off series, which would later be confirmed as a prequel novella. As a result, it’s always going to be difficult to keep something as popular as The Twilight Saga off of the big screen, and it’s something that the series’ fans have only begun to realize, as they have finally accepted the fact that there will never be a true “Twilight” film without the involvement of at least one of the main characters. While it’s still a bit of a dream to keep seeing the main cast of Twilight on the big screen, it’s a dream that will always be out of reach – especially now that they have found their way into the mainstream, thanks to comic books, role-playing games, and even anime.