10 wild facts about the Twilight movies that will blow your mind
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 phenomena 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.
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 differs 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, after 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 color.
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 that 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.
