One of Twilight author Stephenie Meyer’s shortlisted picks for the role of Edward Cullen ended up playing another member of the Cullen clan.
Twilight star Robert Pattinson was one of the most popular choices to play Edward Cullen among fans of the novels, but which of the franchise’s actors did author Stephenie Meyer want for the role? Released in 2008, Twilight was a moody, self-serious teen vampire romance that earned scorn from critics but nonetheless managed to make a phenomenal $407 million at the box office, earning back more than ten times its budget. The Twilight movies were adaptations of author Meyers’ popular paranormal romance novels of the same name, and each subsequent movie earned an impressive take at the box office while still netting largely negative critical write-ups.
The Twilight movies were occasionally even being mocked by their own actors, with Robert Pattinson once saying he regretted his involvement with the series. However, Pattinson wasn’t the author’s first choice for the role of 117-year-old high school student/secret vampire Edward, with Meyer wanting future Superman Henry Cavill for the part.
When the author did an online fan poll of who should play the main roles in the Twilight movies, Pattinson was among the most popular choices for Edward, but the actor didn’t even make the shortlist Meyers compiled of her own preferences. However, another actor from the Twilight series did. Although Jackson Rathbone ended up playing Jasper Hale he was on Meyers’ Edward shortlist, despite not ranking among fan’s favorite choices for the role.
Robert Pattinson, like the too-old Henry Cavill, was already relatively well-known thanks to the Harry Potter movies. However, the author herself didn’t see him in the role. In comparison to Pattinson or Cavill, Rathbone wasn’t well-known when Meyers singled him out as a potential Edward, with a bit part in the 2008 comedy Big Stan and a guest role on The OC being his most notable screen credits at that point. Since the Twilight series wrapped, Rathbone has gone on to indie stardom, with his most recent roles being in 2019’s political satire The Wall of Mexico and the 2018’s Samson.
In contrast, fan favorite choice Pattinson has dabbled in all manner of odd indie roles (and odder attendant accents) in his time since playing Edward Cullen, but between Tenet and the upcoming title role in Matt Reeves’ The Batman, the actor hasn’t struggled to find major blockbuster parts too. Meanwhile, while Meyers’ original choice for Bella, A Series of Unfortunate Events’ star Emily Browning, has not had many blockbuster roles, eventual Bella performer Kristen Stewart has not struggled to find mainstream stardom in the years since she ended her Twilight role.
