It’s been 13 years since the Twilight movie adaptation ended with its final installment, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2. But the movies many know and love could have had a very different cast. During the ScreenRant-hosted Q&A for Twilight, moderated by Joe Deckelmeier at Motor City Comic Con, Twilight’s casting was spoken about. Bella Swan was obviously played by Kristen Stewart, who took the role that is known today, but actress Olivia Thirlby was up for the role of Bella originally:
Peter Facinelli: The other actresses that you read with for Bella — you have to say who it was — but were they name actors, or were they kind of under-the-radar?
Jackson Rathbone: Two of them were, yeah, all right. I’ll tell you one of them, but she’s talked about it before: Olivia Thirlby. She’s fantastic, a fantastic actress.
Ashley Greene: She was up for Alice too.
Peter Facinelli: Carlisle too. She actually passed on, Jasper. [Laughs]

Kristen Stewart as Bella Swan looking off into the distance in Twilight.

Thirlby is known for her roles in Dredd, Juno, Oppenheimer, and The Darkest Hour. Unfortunately, the role of Alice or Bella wasn’t meant to be for Thirlby, as Stewart took the role alongside her, Edward Cullen, played by Robert Pattinson. The Twilight saga was a worldwide success despite being heavily criticized. The five movies grossed over $3.3 billion worldwide, with the highest-grossing movie at the box office being the epic conclusion, Breaking Dawn – Part 2, with over $830 million. The story follows Bella Swan as she falls for mysterious classmate Edward Cullen, only to discover he’s a vampire.
Stewart is known for Spencer, Love Lies Bleeding, and Charlie’s Angels. The actress is set to star in upcoming roles in projects titled The Wrong Girls, Full Phil, Flesh of the Gods, and The Challenger. She’s also directed a thought-provoking movie, The Chronology of Water, which has rave reviews with a 93% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Pattinson also rose to fame after his time with Twilight came to an end and is known for The Batman, Mickey 17, Tenet, The Devil All the Time, and Good Time. The actor isn’t slowing down either, as he has plenty of upcoming projects, including The Batman: Part II, Dune: Part Three, The Odyssey, and The Drama.

Twilight (2008) Movie Poster

Release Date

November 21, 2008

Runtime

121 minutes

Director

Catherine Hardwicke

Writers

Melissa Rosenberg