Twilight director Catherine Hardwicke has some thoughts on who she would cast to play Bella and Edward if Twilight was ever remade. The names on her wish list? Oh, just two of the biggest rising stars today...
During an appearance on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, the director touched on a possible retelling of the 2008 movie. When asked if Wednesday's Jenna Ortega and Euphoria's Jacob Elordi could play Bella Swan and her vampire lover Edward Cullen respectively, Hardwicke replied, "Oh, that would be perfect." Referencing Elordi specifically, she added: "I mean, he's amazing. He probably would be Edward today."
Although it seems as though Hardwicke was talking about a remake in hypothetical terms, it looks like she has had a much easier time casting the reimagining compared to the original. In celebration of the movie's 15th anniversary, she sat down with Total Film to talk about the making of the iconic teen film and the difficulties the team faced when casting Bella and Edward. "Finding Kristen and Rob was certainly a great challenge," remembered Hardwicke, later mentioning that the team originally wanted Emily Browning and Henry Cavil to play the love-struck pair until she found Kristen Stewart.
Casting Edward was a lot harder, with the filmmaker having explained: "Edward was this amazing creature that's lived almost 100 years. He's mysterious and Byron-esque, so how do you find this kid? Most of the guys that auditioned looked like a cute guy in your high school and that didn't take it to the level of mystery, intrigue, death, and angst that Edward needed. It was super challenging."
For now, a remake is not in the works, but a Twilight series is on the way from Lionsgate, although little is known about the project at this stage.
Twilight is available to rent on Prime Video. For more see our guide on how to watch the Twilight movies in order, or check out our list of the most exciting upcoming movies in 2023 and beyond.
