If the Twilight Saga wants to return to the big screen, the best way to do it is with Life and Death and not Midnight Sun – here’s why. Back in 2005, Stephenie Meyer shared her unique vision of vampires and werewolves in the novel Twilight, the first entry in a series of four books that follow the often problematic romance between vampire Edward Cullen and mortal Bella Swan. The couple came across various obstacles throughout the Twilight series, including a coven known as the Volturi and packs of werewolves, among those Bella’s best friend Jacob Black.

As it happens with most fantasy books that become a success, the Twilight books made the jump to the big screen three years after the publishing of the first book. Twilight introduced Robert Pattinson as Edward Cullen and Kristen Stewart as Bella Swan, and while it was heavily criticized, it became an even bigger success than the novel, making way for the following books to also be adapted to film. The Twilight Saga came to an end in 2012 with Breaking Dawn – Part 2, and the cast moved on to other projects, with many of them being able to shake-off their Twilight reputation, while others have chosen to stay far from the spotlight.

Related: Twilight: What Every Book Cover Really Means (Including Midnight Sun)

In August 2020, a new companion book to the Twilight series was released, and it was a story that fans had been waiting for for years. Titled Midnight Sun, the book is a retelling of Twilight but now through the eyes of Edward, which gave readers another perspective of the events while also solving some big questions left by the first book. Naturally, talks about a potential Midnight Sun movie began, but if the Twilight Saga is to be revived, it shouldn’t be through revisiting the old story now with Edward as narrator, but through another one of Meyer’s companion books: Life and Death.

Twilight Edward Cullen Bella Swan

Life and Death: Twilight Reimagined was published in 2015 and though it’s yet another retelling of the book that started it all (and its endlessly criticized and mocked story), this one stands out because it's a gender-swapped version, with Bella becoming Beau Swan and Edward being Edythe Cullen. The story is the exact same, but it gives full closure to the story, leaving no room for sequels. In it, Beau is bitten by James’ female version, Joss, and the poison takes over him quite quickly, leaving the Cullens no choice but to let him become a vampire. The Cullens then fake Beau’s death for his privacy, and he continues his relationship with Edythe.

Adapting Life and Death is the easiest way to revive The Twilight Saga as it requires that all characters be recast. Bringing back the original cast of the saga is not an option anymore as a lot of time has passed since Breaking Dawn - Part 2 was released, and they have all moved on in different ways. Life and Death, although it tells the story everyone is now familiar with, would give a somewhat fresh twist to the Twilight universe, and doesn’t require any sequels.

Next: Twilight vs. Midnight Sun: Which Version Of The Story Is Better