More 'Twilight' movies are coming ... kind of
Five female directors will be making short movies based on the 'Twilight' universe, but the original actors aren't expected to return.
The 'Twilight' films star Kristen Stewart (l.) and Robert Pattinson (r.).
Andrew Cooper/Summit Entertainment/AP
“Twilight” fans are getting more movies … sort of.
According to the New York Times, five female directors will get a chance to put their own spin on the “Twilight” universe by creating short films based on the characters through a new project titled “The Storytellers – New Creative Voices of ‘The Twilight Saga.’”
A panel of people including original “Twilight” actress Kristen Stewart, “Twilight” writer Stephenie Meyer, actresses Kate Winslet, Julie Bowen, and Octavia Spencer, “Twilight” director Catherine Hardwicke, “Frozen” director Jennifer Lee, and “Twilight” producer and Women in Film president Cathy Schulman will select the directors. Once the five have been chosen by the panel, fans will help decide who the first-place winner is, according to Deadline.
According to the NYT, none of the “Twilight” cast members will appear in the movies. The short films will debut on Facebook.
Lions Gate vice chairman Michael Burns commented cryptically on the new venture.
“We think Facebook is a great way for us to introduce the world of ‘Twilight’ to a whole new audience while re-energizing existing fans,” he told the NYT. “This is the just the beginning — a template, if you will. You can probably guess what might be coming next.”
Meanwhile, Meyer said in a statement, “The female voice is something that has become more and more important to me as I’ve worked in the film industry," according to Deadline.
The “Twilight” movies were based on Meyer’s four-book series, which followed a mortal girl, Bella Swan (Stewart), who fell in love with vampire Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson). The last movie in the series, “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2,” was released in 2012 and grossed more than $292 million domestically, according to the website Box Office Mojo.
Monitor film critic Peter Rainer said of “Breaking Dawn – Part 1,” the last “Twilight” film he reviewed and the one in which (years-old spoiler alert) protagonist Bella found herself pregnant, “’Part 1’ is going for a ‘Rosemary’s Baby’ vibe but without much wit or imagination.”