Why The Twilight Saga From Edward's POV Wouldn't Work
The newest Twilight book has officially hit the shelves, but it might not spawn an entirely new spin-off series.
In early August, Stephenie Meyer released Midnight Sun, a re-telling of the first book of the Twilight saga from the perspective of Edward Cullen, the teenage heartthrob vampire played in the film adaptations by Robert Pattinson. Though fans were initially thrilled to see their well-loved story play out from a different point of view, there are a few reasons that this experiment may not work very well for the rest of the books in the Twilight saga.
One Reddit user, athena_31, detailed just some of those reasons in a post about why an Edward-centric Twilight saga might not be the most enjoyable read, should Meyer continue this trend and release New Moon, Eclipse, and Breaking Dawn with Edward as the narrator.
If you loved Midnight Sun and want the story to continue, you might want to hope that Meyer tries a different tactic for any future Twilight books. Here are some of the reasons why the Twilight saga just wouldn't work from Edward's perspective.
Edward's perspective isn't enough to sustain a new Twilight saga
As athena_31 points out, there's one big reason why the Twilight books simply wouldn't work from Edward's perspective: Edward is one of the most morose characters in recent literary history. Bella, the main character of the original novels and the subject of Edward's obsession (played in the films by Kristen Stewart), might be a moody teenager from time to time, but when it comes to outright moping, she's got nothing on Edward.
Right from the jump, where Edward muses about whether he's heading to high school or "purgatory," the tone of Midnight Sun is fairly miserable, and matters only get worse when Edward meets Bella, whose blood smells better to him than any other human's blood ever has. Edward and Bella eventually form a romantic attachment, but initially, Edward hates this new girl who's tempting him to turn towards a violent path, and even leaves town for a while just to get away from her.
Experiencing Twilight's story from Edward's perspective is a pretty maudlin experience, and there's no question that trend would continue. In the second book, New Moon, Edward breaks up with Bella ostensibly for her own safety, making both of them completely miserable, and in Eclipse, he's thrust into a love triangle with Bella and her friend Jacob (Taylor Lautner). Finally, after getting married in Breaking Dawn, Bella immediately gets pregnant with a half-vampire baby, plunging Edward into a pit of self-loathing. Between Edward's judgmental attitude, his constant guilt over disrupting Bella's life, and his downtrodden outlook, several more books from his perspective could potentially be pretty hard to read.
Midnight Sun may never make it to the big screen
Of course, if Meyer does make a series out of Midnight Sun, there will likely be a push to adapt this revised saga for the big screen, particularly after the success of the original Twilight films. However, this is probably an impossibility.
Not only would Midnight Sun rehash almost exactly the same story as Twilight — as the perspective shift won't be as obvious on screen as it is on the page — it seems absolutely impossible that Stewart or Pattinson would return to their roles. Both actors have responded with sarcasm and derision when asked if they would ever return for a new Twilight film, and they're both in pretty high demand. Stewart has made a name for herself across independent films and blockbusters alike, and even became the first female actor to win France's prestigious Cesar Award. Pattinson has followed a similar trajectory, mixing arthouse fare like The Lighthouse and Good Times with blockbusters like Tenet and The Batman.
Midnight Sun is on shelves now — and when you read it, you'll probably understand why this story should remain a standalone.