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25 wild facts about the Twilight movies that will blow your mind
18 February 2021, 17:45
Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart open up about filming “steamy” Twilight sex scene
Bella Swan and Edward Cullen were almost played by completely different actors.
Twilight isn't just a series, it's a lifestyle, and the films are some of the most entertaining phenomenons in pop culture history.
Whether you were a fan as soon as the first novel came out in 2005, or you joined the franchise later in life, it's impossible to deny the enduring impact and appeal of Twilight. Together, Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner and the rest of the iconic cast, brought the story of Bella Swan and Edward Cullen to life and cinema has never been the same since.
How well do you ACTUALLY know the films though? Like all brilliant franchises, there are many secrets and wild facts about the Twilight movies that may surprise even the most Twihard of fans. We all know that Renesmee was a CGI baby but here are 25 equally incredible Twilight facts that we've put together all in one place for you to lose your mind over.
READ MORE: Will there be more Twilight books after Midnight Sun?
1) The book was optioned as a movie before it even came out.
Film studios were certain that Twilight was gonna be a hit before Stephenie Meyer had even finished writing it. In 2004, MTV Films optioned it. However, the screenplay differed so much from the source material that it was put on hold. It later found its home with Summit Entertainment in 2007 and the rest is history.
2) Stephenie Meyer originally wanted Henry Cavill to play Edward Cullen.
Yes. You heard that correctly. In a 2007 blog post, Stephenie described the Superman star as "the only actor I’ve ever seen who I think could come close to pulling off Edward Cullen". However, by the time that filming came around, production had taken so long, that Henry looked too old for the part.
Stephenie also suggested Tom Sturridge, Logan Lerman and Orlando Bloom before Robert Pattinson became the Edward we know and love.
3) Stephenie Meyer originally wanted Emily Browning to play Bella Swan.
Just like with Edward, Stephenie Meyer initially had a different person in mind to play Bella. Her first pick was A Series of Unfortunate Events actress Emily Browning. Elliot Page, Danielle Panabaker, Alexis Bledel, Rachel McAdams and Anna Paquin were also on her list.
4) Jennifer Lawrence and Lily Collins were both considered to play Bella.
Jennifer Lawrence and Lily Collins may have both gone on to have had huge success with different projects but there was a moment in time where either of them could have played Bella. However, following many auditions, Stephenie and producers eventually decided that Kristen Stewart should play Bella and we couldn't imagine anyone else in the role.
5) Robert Pattinson had never heard of Twilight before being asked to audition.
It's hard to think of anyone who doesn't know what Twilight is now but Robert Pattinson had no idea what the franchise was before finding out about the casting call. It was only when his agent asked him to audition that the learned about the series.
6) Cam Gigandet was initially cast as Emmett.
Cam Gigandet personally asked if he could play villain James instead after being cast and the producers agreed. Kellan Lutz was then given the role of Emmett.
7) Kristen Stewart’s real-life boyfriend was supposed to play Mike.
Kristen Stewart was dating Will & Grace actor Michael Angarano when the first movie was being filmed and he was the first choice to play Mike before Michael Welch ended up in the role. Given that Kristen broke up with Michael in 2009 and then began dating her co-star Robert Pattinson, it probably worked out for the best.
8) Kristen Stewart wore contacts in all of the films.
Kristen Stewart has naturally green eyes so she had to wear contacts in each of the films to get Bella's brown eye colour.
9) Hayley Williams wrote Paramore’s ‘Decode’ about Bella and Edward.
Hayley Williams was actually a huge Twilight fan before being asked to work on the soundtrack so she jumped at the chance to write a song for it. In a statement, Hayley said: "I chose the title "Decode" because the song is about the building tension, awkwardness, anger and confusion between Bella and Edward."
She continued: "Bella's mind is the only one which Edward can't read and I feel like that's a big part of the first book and one of the obstacles for them to overcome. It's one added tension that makes the story even better."
10) Nikki Reed is responsible for Robert Pattinson’s songs appearing in the film.
Robert Pattinson had no intention of submitting any of his songs to the film's soundtrack. However, Nikki Reed (Rosalie) was so impressed with his songwriting that she secretly recorded him singing his songs during filming breaks on set and played them to the producers. The director then asked if Robert could record official versions for the soundtrack.
11) All of the Cullens wear jewellery with the same symbol on it.
The Cullens all wear special items bearing the Cullen family crest. Edward, Jasper, and Emmett can be seen wearing the same wristband, Alice and Rosalie wear similar necklaces, Esme has a bracelet and Carlisle has a ring - all emblazoned with the same symbol.
12) The first scenes filmed were the baseball scene and the ballet room finale.
They may appear at the end of the first film but the iconic baseball scene and ballet room scene were filmed first. Cam Gigandet was working on another film at the time and they had to shoot them straight away to accommodate his schedule.
13) Bella’s prom dress cost $20.
By contrast, Edward's prom suit was the most expensive item of clothing in the entire film.
14) Almost all of the TV’s that appear in the background of the film play the ballet scene.
If you keep your eyes peeled, you can see parts of the dramatic scene play out long before it technically happens in the film.
15) The sequel was green-lit one day after the first movie came out.
Twilight grossed a whopping $35.7 million in its opening day so it was a no brainer for Summit Entertainment to immediately green-light New Moon.
16) Taylor Lautner was almost recast in New Moon.
Jacob Black is noticeably fitter in New Moon than the first book and the producers were planning to recast Taylor Lautner if he couldn't train hard enough in time to film the second film. Michael Copon was even being considered to replace him. However, Taylor gained over 25 pounds of muscle before filming and kept the role.
17) Lucy Hale auditioned for the role of Jane.
Pretty Little Liars star Lucy Hale was one of the many actresses who tried out for Jane before Dakota Fanning got the part.
18) Tom Felton and Channing Tatum were in the running to play Riley.
We could have had two Harry Potter actors in Eclipse. However, lesser-known actor Xavier Samuels was ultimately chosen to play Riley instead of Tom Felton. Step Up icon Channing Tatum was also one of the early names considered for the role.
19) Vanessa Hudgens was one of the early choices for the role of Leah.
The producers ultimately decided to cast a lesser-known actress and Julia Jones scored the part.
20) Kristen Stewart wore a wig throughout Eclipse.
Kristen had just cut her hair short to film The Runaways so she had to wear a wig to recapture Bella's signature look.
21) Stephenie Meyer is a guest at Bella and Edward's wedding.
It's well known that Stephenie has a cameo in the first film. She appears briefly in the diner. However, she also features in Breaking Dawn – Part 1 as one of Bella and Edward's wedding guests.
22) Robert Pattinson took boat driving lessons for Breaking Dawn – Part 1.
Robert was keen to actually drive the boat in the honeymoon scenes so he got lessons. However, in spite of his attempts to learn, he crashed the boat during his lessons and while filming the scenes.
23) The sex scene had to be reshot and edited to avoid giving the film an R rating.
The first version of the sex scene in Breaking Dawn – Part 1 was considered too explicit due to the thrusting involved. Robert and Kristen had to re-film it so that Breaking Dawn – Part 1 could be rated as a PG-13 like the rest of the Twilight films.
24) Dakota Fanning says only one word in Breaking Dawn – Part 2.
Despite being a main role, Dakota Fanning only says "pain" in the last Twilight film.
25) The final word of the film is Breaking Dawn – Part 2 is the same as the final word in the book.
The last line in the book is "And then we continued blissfully into this small but perfect piece of our forever". Meanwhile, in the film ends with both Bella and Edward saying "forever" in reference to how long they will be together.
