“Twilight” sparked the careers of stars Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson, propelling the unknown actors to Hollywood stardom.
Yet as they churned out sequel after sequel, both stars grew increasingly disparaging about the franchise that made them famous.
After they’d both moved on, the actors greeted questions about returning to the franchise with disdain, if not outright scorn.
That was apparent in a 2018 interview at the Toronto International Film Festival, when a reporter for “Entertainment Tonight” asked Stewart about the possiblity of doing another “Twilight” movie.
“Oh, yeah sure,” she deadpanned sarcastically, reported W Magazine. “Honestly. Start sending scripts my way. Let’s start building this. Let’s really explore [it].”
‘I Love It’
In recent years, however, both Stewart and Pattinson have softened their attitudes toward “Twilight.” In fact, in a recent interview Stewart claimed that she’d be open to revisiting the role she first began playing as a teenager back in 2008.
During an appearance on “Adults” star Owen Thiele‘s “In Your Dreams” podcast, Stewart revealed that her once-tempestuous relationship with the $3-billion film franchise had come full circle.
In fact, she declared that she’d be open to reprising “Twilight” heroine Bella Swan in another sequel.
“I love it, I would do it again,” Stewart said.
‘Pretentious Little Loser’
GettyAppearing on the podcast with her “The Wrong Girls” co-star Alia Shawkat, Stewart admitted that she can appreciate how the seriousness with which she approached “Twilight” was misinterpreted.
Looking back, Stewart recalled that she turned 18 while making the first film, and at the time acted “like such a pretentious little loser trying to make it the very best.”
She admitted, “It was so so serious.”
‘So Perfect for That Period of Time’
In retrospect, she blames their youth and inexperience for the public perception that both she and Pattinson felt they were too good for “Twilight.”
“Me and Rob were like, ‘Yeah, this is like [expletive] epic, like let’s try and, like, elevate this [expletive’],’” Stewart explained.
“But tonally, we were all kind of like teenage about it,” she continued.
“It was always like, ‘Oh my God, embarrassing. God, I just wanted to be like [expletive] real and it’s, like, impossible. Everyone’s like making it [expletive] impossible for it to be like [expletive] real,’” Stewart added.
Over the years, she’s come to a new appreciation of “Twilight,” admitting that “it was [expletive] real. And kind of campy and sick. Like anything like ‘too much’ is so perfect for that period of time where you’re not going to do subtle stuff when you’re like a teenager dying. You know what I mean?”
The ‘Twilight’ Franchise ‘Ebbed and Flowed’
Back in 2015, Stewart sat down with rock icon Patti Smith for Interview magazine, and looked back at her “Twilight” experience.
“Say I do a big franchise movie about a vampire that falls in love with a normal girl. It’s like, ‘Now do you want to show them that you can be a real, serious actor?’ It’s like, ‘Was I not being a real, serious actor?’” she said.
“I mean, it was a long process, so it’s hard to generalize about it as a whole,” Stewart added. “It wasn’t entirely cohesive. We ebbed and flowed. I will definitely acknowledge that.”
While her feelings about “Twilight” were admittedly complicated, the one feeling that stood out was pride.
“Anybody who wants to talk [expletive] about ‘Twilight,’ I completely get it, but there’s something there that I’m endlessly, and to this day, [expletive] proud of,” Stewart added. “My memory of it felt — still feels — really good.”
