A New 'Twilight' TV Show Is Coming to Netflix, But With A Few Major Twists

Levi Leidy

26 October 2024 at 1:15 pm·6-min read

Young adult fantasy novels from 2000s are all the rage again thanks to millennial nostalgia.

Warner Bros. Discovery announced a TV adaptation of Harry Potter, Disney+ has a Percy Jackson series airing, there's a new Hunger Games movie coming next year AND Lionsgate announced back in 2023 that a Twilight series was on the way.

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Nearly a year later, members of Team Jacob and Team Edward got an update: the upcoming show would be animated and rather than rehashing the original story, it would adapt Stephenie Meyer's 2020 novel Midnight Sun.

The show, which will also be called Midnight Sun, landed a straight-to-series order from Netflix. Here’s what we know about it so far, including what it’s about and if Meyer will be involved in the production.

What is the release date for Midnight Sun, the Twilight animated show?

So far, Netflix and Lionsgate TV are keeping pretty quiet on the details for their new project. According to the Netflix website Tudum, while no release date has been announced yet, Midnight Sun is currently in development. We likely won't see the show premiere until sometime in late 2025 at the earliest, but 2026 seems like a more feasible landing spot.

What is the Midnight Sun animated series about?

Midnight Sun (the book) was published in 2020 by Stephenie Meyer. While it’s set in the Twilight universe, it’s not a sequel–it’s a retelling of the first book of the series, Twilight, from Edward Cullen’s perspective.

As such, the Midnight Sun show should follow the same basic storyline as Twilight: When high school student Bella Swan moves in with her dad in Forks, Washington, she catches the eye of Edward Cullen, a mysterious boy with an even more mysterious (and beautiful) family. As we know (not a spoiler at this point), the Cullens turn out to be a family of vampires with supernatural abilities and powerful enemies.

The story being from Edward’s perspective does give it a new flavor. For one, his being a vampire won’t be a mystery at the start. Viewers will also get more insight into the Cullen family, Edward’s feelings for Bella and, if the show eventually goes past where the book ended, what Edward was doing during those months he left Bella in New Moon.

This new adaptation will be an especially exciting addition for Twilight movie fans who haven’t read Midnight Sun.

How is the Midnight Sun TV show connected to the Twilight books?

Midnight Sun the TV show is based on Stephenie Meyer's novel Midnight Sun, which is a retelling of Twilight, the first book in the series, only it's from the perspective of Edward Cullen instead of Bella Swan. While the book Midnight Sun only covers the events of Twilight, the TV series could cover the events of all four books if Netflix decides to continue the series.

Will the Midnight Sun show be connected to the Twilight movies?

Midnight Sun will be connected to the movies in that it will follow roughly the same plot as the first Twilight film (2008). However, that’s where the similarities end.

The new adaptation will all be told from Edward’s point of view. It’s also a TV show, and having multiple episodes and more screen time gives the story lots of room for development.

Another key difference is that it will be animated. Any wild visions Stephenie Meyer had of vampires running through the woods, climbing trees and sparkling in the sun can be portrayed in the way she saw them in her head, without the limits of live-action CGI (computer-generated imagery).

Who is in the cast of the Midnight Sun TV show?

So far no casting announcements have been made by Netflix. Because the show will be animated, it's possible that the cast might be less star-studded and made up mostly of voice actors. We'll know more as development continues.

How to watch the Midnight Sun TV show

The Midnight Sun TV show will stream exclusively on Netflix when it premieres.

Is there a trailer for the Midnight Sun TV show?

Not yet. We likely won't have a trailer until close to the release date which seems months away at this point.

Who is writing the Midnight Sun TV show?

Sinead Daly will be writing the series and serving as an executive producer. She previously worked on shows like Tell Me Lies and Raised by Wolves.

Will Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson or Taylor Lautner be in the Midnight Sun cast?

Part of what made the Twilight movies so iconic was the casting. Kristen Stewart played the protagonist, 17-year-old human Bella Swan, Robert Pattinson played moody vampire heartthrob Edward Cullen, and Taylor Lautner completed the love triangle as werewolf Jacob Black.

Even though it’s been over a decade since the final Twilight movie premiered, the fact that Midnight Sun is animated leaves the door open for the original actors to reprise their roles–or, at least, lend their voices. So far any news on the Midnight Sun cast has been kept hush-hush.

The likelihood that the trio would want to reprise their roles is another big question mark. In the years following the Twilight phenomenon, Pattinson hasn’t been shy about not loving his role as Edward, and neither has Stewart. Lautner has largely retreated from acting and the public eye, although he did appear in the 2023 music video Taylor Swift: I Can See You (Taylor’s Version). So it seems unlikely that any of the three will return, but for a large enough paycheck, it's possible.

Will Stephenie Meyer be involved in the Midnight Sun animated show?

Meyer, the author of the Twilight series and Midnight Sun, was also involved in the movies. She made a few cameos, provided suggestions along the way (not that they were always listened to–she wanted Henry Cavill to play Edward) and even co-produced the Breaking Dawn movies.

It sounds like she’ll have even more involvement in the TV adaptation of Midnight Sun. She’s set to serve as executive producer alongside Meghan Hibbett, her partner in the production company Fickle Fish Films.

In an update on her website, Meyer wrote, “I’m super excited to work with the amazing people at Netflix, and to see the world of Twilight without any of the restraints of live action. I think we’re going to be able to make something truly beautiful. But this is animation, so we’re all going to have to be extremely patient, myself included. It will take time to make this series as gorgeous as we know it can be. I will post more updates whenever I have something to share, so check back every year or so.”