Stephenie Meyer's vampire romance series Twilight is returning in a brand-new TV series, but this time it will be animated. Starting with the release of Meyer's best-selling novel in 2005, the teen romance epic follows the life of outcast Bella Swan who becomes the object of two boys' affection. However, her two suitors aren't just normal teens, one is an ancient vampire while the other is a member of a werewolf pack. Across the four main novels in the series, the love triangle between Bella, Edward, and Jacob would become a bona fide pop culture phenomenon.

Though the novels in the Twilight series were big in their own right, the story gained its worldwide audience with the release of 2008's adaptation of the eponymous first novel. The film franchise carried on until 2012, but the book franchise was reborn in 2020 with the release of Midnight Sun, a version of the first novel but from the perspective of Edward Cullen. Now, nearly five years later, Netflix's plan to bring the Twilight universe to life through animation will start with an adaptation of Stephanie Meyer's lesser-known novel.

The Animated Twilight TV Series Latest News

The Series Will Adapt "Midnight Sun"

Months after it was announced that the series would be animated, the latest news confirms that the Twilight series will adapt Midnight Sun. The 2020 novel by Stephenie Meyer retells the story of Twilight but from the perspective of the vampire heartthrob, Edward Cullen. Lionsgate TV has been shopping the Twilight animated series around for the better part of two years, and it has finally landed on Netflix, which has granted the teen romance story a straight-to-series order. Sinead Daly has been tapped to write the adaptation as well as produce.

Midnight Sun was originally written in 2008, but when pages leaked online, author Stephenie Meyer shelved the project until it was finally published in 2020.

The Animated Twilight TV Series Is Confirmed

The Project Was Revealed In 2023

Just over a decade after The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2 debuted in theaters in 2012, it was announced that a new Twilight TV show was in the works from Lionsgate in early 2023. This announcement failed to mention the series would be animated, a detail that was later disclosed nearly a year later, in early 2024. Lionsgate TV would eventually ink a deal with Netflix in September 2024, and it was revealed that the series would be adapting Meyer's 2020 novel, Midnight Sun.

Stephenie Meyer herself is attached as a producer alongside Meghan Hibbett, Wyck Godfrey, Marty Bowen, Erik Feig, and Samie Kim Falvey. Sinead Daly (Tell Me Lies, The Walking Dead) has been tapped to write the adaptation, and will also produce. Despite landing the straight-to-series order from Netflix, no timeline has been announced, and it's unclear exactly how far along in the development process the series is currently.

The Animated Twilight TV Series Story Details

Twilight From A New Perspective

it opens the door for a new take on Twilight, and gives Hollywood a mulligan on some of the things they might have missed the first time.

Though there were many who hoped that the new series would address the controversial elements of Meyer's Twilight books, the choice to adapt the 2020 novel Midnight Sun changes everything. The novel retells the events of the first Twilight book but from the perspective of Edward Cullen. This aimed to add depth to the vampire character, and give him more backstory aside from Bella Swan's interpretation of him. Though the book was largely panned, it opens the door for a new take on Twilight, and gives Hollywood a mulligan on some of the things they might have missed the first time.