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20 Crazy Twilight Saga Fun Facts You Won't Believe

Check out these crazy facts all about the Twilight saga and our favourite trio - Bella, Edward and Jacob!

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Beano Facts Team
Last Updated:  October 28th 2022

The Twilight franchise is over a decade old now, but it remains one of the most popular sagas ever! When Bella moves to rainy Forks, Washington, little does she know her world is about to be turned upside down! From werewolves to sparkly vampires, these stories have everything! Here are 20 crazy facts about the Twilight saga that you never knew - which one is your favourite?

1. Robert Pattinson wasn't Stephanie Meyer's first choice for Edward

It might be hard to believe now, but Robert Pattinson wasn't always destined to play Edward! Originally, Stephanie Meyer had pictured Henry Cavill (Superman) in the role, but by the time it came to filming, he was already a bit old for the part. Can you imagine anyone else as our favourite gloomy, twinkly vamp?

2. Kristen Stewart had to wear contacts the whole time

In the books, Bella is famously described as having brown eyes. Kirsten Stewart, however, has green eyes, which meant she had to wear contacts throughout the films! She also dons a red pair when her character turns into a vampire. Hopefully they weren't too itchy!

3. Dakota Fanning only says one word in the last film

Dakota Fanning is famous as Jane, the cold and scary female Volturi who hunts the Cullens down for disobeying them. However, Jane doesn't have much to say by the time it comes to the last film. In fact, in Breaking Dawn part 2, her character only says one line the whole time - 'pain'. Somehow we think this makes her creepier.

4. Bella's prom dress only cost $20

Yes, at the end of the first Twilight film you may remember that Bella gets to go to prom - even though she has one leg in a cast! Amazingly, the pretty purple dress she was wearing only cost the costume department $20! By contrast, Edward's tux for the same scene was the most expensive thing in the film! Either way, they both look great!

5. Stephanie Meyer had the idea for Twilight in a dream

Stephanie Meyer says that the original story for Twilight came to her in a dream. She said she dreamt that a girl and a vampire were lying in a meadow, talking. This exact scene comes up many times in the books and films too. Apparently she can even remember the exact date she had the dream - June 2, 2003. We've come a long way since then!

6. Stephanie Meyer makes a cameo in Twilight

Yes, you can see the author herself in the first film - at the diner where Bella and her dad hang out. She's even writing on a laptop! She can also be seen in the background of Breaking Dawn part 1 as a wedding guest!

7. Kristin Stewart wears a wig

Kristen had short hair from another film for most of the first film, which is why she wore long hair extensions instead. Apparently this saved time in the hair and makeup trailer too. You'd never have guessed it wasn't her real hair!

8. It's not Michael Sheen's first vampire franchise

Michael Sheen is famous for playing Aro, one of the creepiest and most powerful members of the Volturi. However, it's not Michael's first job with vampires. He also starred in the Underworld series of films, which is about a war between vampires and werewolves, only this time, he plays a werewolf! Wonder if he's Team Jacob?

9. Vampire's eyes reveal their diets

The reason the Cullens have golden brown eyes is because they don't drink human blood. When a vampire hasn't had any blood for a few weeks, their eyes go black. This is except for newborns, who all have red eyes regardless of what they eat.

10. Catherine Hardwicke only directed the first film

Of the five Twilight films, Catherine Hardwicke only directed the first one. Apparently she didn't feel like she had enough time to properly prepare for the next one, and so decided not to direct it in the end, which is a shame - what could the film have turned out like if she'd been at the helm?

11. Forks Washington is a real place

Yes, Forks is real and you can go and visit it! Apparently when writing the books, Stephanie Meyer wanted to set them someone very gloomy and overcast, so her vampires wouldn't sparkle too much and reveal themselves. So she did some research and found out that Forks is one of the rainiest places in the whole of the US! Now you can visit lots of the real-life locations, and enjoy some of that rain yourself.

12. And the Quileute are a real tribe

The Quileute are a real First Nation people who actually live in the same area of Washington that the story is set in. They don't have any werewolf myths however, and some of them have expressed unhappiness with the way their culture was portrayed in the film.

13. Lily Collins might have played Bella

It wasn't just Edward who could have been played by someone totally different, Bella was also given a lot of thought by casting agents. Lily Collins was high up on the list of potential Bellas, and we can see why - both she and Kristen look very similar! However, she ended up in another spooky teen franchise, The Mortal Instruments instead, which also starred Twilight's Jamie Campbell Bower. Small world!

14. Victoria changes actor over the course of the saga

You might remember Victoria looking a little different between the first and second films. This is because the actress who played her, Rachel Lefevre, was replaced by Bryce Dallas Howard. Bryce was actually the original choice for the role, but felt the part was too small. Victoria has a bit more to do in the second film, and Bryce agreed to come on board!

15. The Twilight franchise has grossed billions of dollars

Yes, combined the books, films and other merchandise has made billions! That's a lot of money! Out of all the films, Breaking Dawn part 2 made the most money - about $1 billion in total!

16. Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson wouldn't say no to another movie

Even though they didn't always have fun making the films, Kristen and Robert have both said that they wouldn't necessarily refuse to do another film. They have both said that they would be happy to pick up the story again. Watch this space?

17. The foreign titles are nothing like the original names

The names for the books in different languages are completely different! For example, in Swedish Twilight is called 'If I Could Dream', while in Norwegian it's 'The Kiss of Eternity' and in French it's 'Fascination'.

18. Taylor Lautner nearly got recast

It's difficult to picture anyone else as Jacob, the hunky werewolf best friend of Bella, but there was a time when he was nearly recast! Apparently, after the first film, the film makers wanted a bigger, bulkier Jacob and weren't sure if Taylor was up for the task. But he proved them wrong and kept his iconic role!

19. Renesmee was nearly a scary robot baby

When Breaking Dawn part 2 came out, there was more than a little controversy about how baby Renesmee looked - in particular, that the vampire/human hybrid looked a little bit ....well, creepy. But if you think that's bad, it's nothing compared to the original Renesmee, who was a moving animatronic. There is still footage with this creepy doll out there, and it's fair to say she looks pretty terrifying! So maybe the CGI was the right choice after all!

20. The first book had a much more boring title

Originally, Stephanie Meyer wanted to call the first book 'Forks', after the town it's set in. Not the most exciting title, you have to admit. Her publishers through so anyway, and convinced her to change it to something a little spookier. The rest is history!