If months ago, someone were to tell me that 2020 would result in the return of the Twilight saga, I would have laughed so hard that tears might have streamed down my face — vampires are so 2008! But if the last few months have taught us anything, it’s that anything can happen. Even the return of Edward Cullen.
Today, Twilight author Stephenie Meyer announced that the saga was far from over; the story continues, but this time, it will be told from Edward’s perspective in a book called Midnight Sun.
"I am very excited to finally, finally announce the release of Midnight Sun on August 4,” Meyer said on Good Morning America this morning. “I’m so excited to finally be able to share it with you.”
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“It’s a crazy time right now and I wasn’t sure if this was the right time to put this book out, but some of you have been waiting for just so, so long,” the author continued excitedly. “It didn’t seem fair to make you wait anymore. Sorry about the bad timing — hopefully this book can be a distraction from the real world.”
Diehard Twilight fans probably recognise that Midnight Sun isn’t exactly a new release. The book was written years ago, and Meyer shared it with Twilight director Catherine Hardwicke and Robert Pattinson. Unfortunately, the project’s earlier chapters were leaked and shared across the internet far earlier than the writer had intended, forcing her to publish what was written on her own website before the story was completed.
Years later, Meyer has finally wrapped up Midnight Sun, and she’s ready to share Edward’s story with the world. The forthcoming book will explore his unique vantage point as a thousand-year old vampire who falls in love with a human — we'll finally get to read, in Edward's own words, exactly what Bella smelled like to make him react so strongly upon their first meeting.
It's been eight years since the release of the last film in the saga, Breaking Dawn Part II, but our inner tweens have never forgotten the intrigue of Edward and Bella's dramatic love story. Even its star, who once hated the fanaticism around the series, has finally come around to it after all these years.
"It seems like with younger people in their late teens, early 20s, it’s sort of become quite a hip thing to like," Pattinson said in 2019. "It’s a fascinating second wave of people appreciating it, which is kind of cool."
While the chances of Pattinson reprising the role anytime soon are slim to none right now — he's Batman, you guys! — at least we can take solace in knowing that if the actor wanted to play a thousand-year-old vampire who still looked 17, he definitely could. Until then, we'll just be writing our own Midnight Sun-based fan fiction.