Kristen Stewart is open to re-entering the Twilight cinematic universe, but not to reprise her iconic character Bella Swan. In a new interview with Entertainment Tonight, posted on Jan. 5, the actor said she “would love” to direct a remake of her 2008 breakout film Twilight, now that she has some experience under her belt.
Stewart was honored as one of Variety‘s 10 Directors to Watch after her directorial debut film, The Chronology of Water, premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in May, receiving rave reviews from critics. On the red carpet, an ET reporter suggested that she revisit the Twilight films, but through a director’s lens. It turns out the movies had been on her mind lately.
“It’s funny, I was just talking to one of my friends about that movie because it’s on TV a lot over the holidays,” she recalled. “I was like, ‘How is that aging?’ ‘Cause they watch it every year on Christmas with their fam.”
Now, Stewart would love to see what she could do with Twilight under different circumstances and with a new perspective. “Imagine if we had a huge budget and a bunch of love and support,” she said. “I would love to readapt. Yeah, sure, I’ll do the remake. I’m doing it! I’m committed!”
What Kristen Learned From Twilight
Although she’s interested in taking the director’s chair, Stewart made sure to give the original Twilight directors their flowers. Catherine Hardwicke helmed the first film, while Chris Weitz and David Slade directed New Moon and Eclipse, respectively. Bill Condon handled both movies in the two-part finale, Breaking Dawn.
“Look, I love what Catherine did, I love what Chris did, I love what all of the directors did with the movies,” she told ET, noting how the cast “were so themselves and weird and kind of like, squirrelly, and just so present in that time when they didn’t really know what they were yet, like before they blew up.”
In December, Stewart told The Hollywood Reporter what she learned from watching Hardwicke on the set of Twilight, and how that informed her experience as a first-time director. “That [first] Twilight movie is hers and reflects her; Catherine accomplished that, hands down,” she said. “Being able to withstand and organize that many opinions, and still make something that feels like yours, is near impossible to do.”
