The ‘Twilight’ saga is one of the biggest franchises of all time. Shaped by the life-sized paparazzi and Hollywood’s elite, it has sold over 400 million copies and been made in to film adaptations in both English and French.
Since breaking onto the scene in 2008, Robert Pattinson has played Edward Cullen in all five films. The actor, who is set to appear in the upcoming ‘Twilight’ installment on August 22, 2021, has now starred in the franchise for eight years. What will the future of the ‘Twilight’ series look like? Let’s take a look.
A Brief History of the ‘Twilight’s’ Film Adaptations
While the books were initially released in the U.K in 1996 and gained popularity in the U.S the following year, it was 2008’s ‘Twilight’ that truly put Stephenie Meyers’ work on the map. That year, ‘Twilight’ became the highest-grossing fantasy film of all time, with a worldwide total of nearly $800 million. Its enormous success was largely down to the casting of Robert Pattinson as Edward Cullen, a role he would go on to play in all five sequels.
The following year, ‘Breaking Dawn – Part 2′ became the first ‘Twilight’ film to rank among the highest-grossing films of all time. The last three films have also gone on to become among the top 25 highest-grossing films of all time, with ‘Eclipse’ being the highest-grossing of the three, earning $1.1 billion worldwide.
The ‘Twilight’ films have been incredibly successful, helping expand Stephenie Meyers’ fan base and launch her into superstardom. What’s more, many of the films have surpassed the milestone of 100 million views on YouTube, with ‘Eclipse’ easily racking up 160 million views. And the most recent installment, ‘Twilight: Winter Solstice,’ became the most downloaded installment of the ‘Twilight’ saga, with over 80 million downloads as of April 2021.
Where Will the ‘Twilight’ Films Go From Here?
With the news that principal photography has begun on ‘Twilight: Winter Solstice’ (tentatively titled ‘Twilight 8′) in Iceland, it’s obvious that the future of the ‘Twilight’ trilogy is looking pretty bright.
The first book in the series, ‘Twilight,’ detailed Bella’s (Kristen Stewart) summer vacation in the Scottish Highlands. Filming for that film began in 2013 in Ireland and was completed a year later. ‘Breaking Dawn – Part 1′ was then shot on location in the U.S.A., while ‘Part 2′ was mostly filmed in a studio in Bulgaria. With ‘Winter Solstice’ set to be released on August 22, 2021, it would appear that the series will continue to be based in the Northern Hemisphere for the foreseeable future.
The Final Season of ‘Twilight’
With ‘Twilight: Winter Solstice’ set for release this summer, fans of the series can look forward to the final season. The final chapter is shaping up to be one of the biggest films of the entire saga, as Stephenie Meyers will soon be concluding her saga with a bang and setting the stage for the next generation of ‘Twilight’ films.
In ‘Twilight: Winter Solstice,’ Bella, human again, is forced to choose between her family and her new found love for Jacob (Taylor Lautner). The fate of the Cullens and those they love is ultimately in Bella’s hands as she decides who to choose between Edward and Jacob. We can expect another emotional story from Stephenie Meyers, as she bids farewell to her biggest creation. What will the future of the ‘Twilight’ series look like? We may never know.