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Hold on tight, spider monkey! The Twilight saga was the love story of legend at one point. This film series based on the popular novels earned more than $3 billion worldwide and spawned plenty of fan-fiction-inspired franchises, like After and 50 Shades of Grey.
But what if you’ve just recently decided to give the world of sparkling vampire romance a try? After all, the films aren’t titled Twilight II, Twilight III, and Twilight IV. And why are there two parts of Breaking Dawn anyway?
Scroll down to discover how to watch Twilight movies in chronological order. Spoilers ahead!
Credit: Courtesy of The Twilight Saga/YouTube
How to Watch All of the 'Twilight' Movies in Order: From ‘Twilight’ to ‘Breaking Dawn’
Hold on tight, spider monkey! The Twilight saga was the love story of legend at one point. This film series based on the popular novels earned more than $3 billion worldwide and spawned plenty of fan-fiction-inspired franchises, like After and 50 Shades of Grey.
But what if you’ve just recently decided to give the world of sparkling vampire romance a try? After all, the films aren’t titled Twilight II, Twilight III, and Twilight IV. And why are there two parts of Breaking Dawn anyway?
Scroll down to discover how to watch Twilight movies in chronological order. Spoilers ahead!
Credit: Courtesy of The Twilight Saga/YouTube
How to Watch All of the 'Twilight' Movies in Order: From ‘Twilight’ to ‘Breaking Dawn’
Hold on tight, spider monkey! The Twilight saga was the love story of legend at one point. This film series based on the popular novels earned more than $3 billion worldwide and spawned plenty of fan-fiction-inspired franchises, like After and 50 Shades of Grey.
But what if you’ve just recently decided to give the world of sparkling vampire romance a try? After all, the films aren’t titled Twilight II, Twilight III, and Twilight IV. And why are there two parts of Breaking Dawn anyway?
Scroll down to discover how to watch Twilight movies in chronological order. Spoilers ahead!
Credit: Courtesy of Movie Station/YouTube
'Twilight' (2008)
The first Twilight film was released in 2008. It’s here we meet 17-year-old Bella Swan (played byKristen Stewart). She’s a teenage girl who relocates from sunny Phoenix, Arizona, to gloomy Forks, Washington, to live with her police chief dad, Charlie (Billy Burke), after her mom gets remarried.
Upon enrolling in the local high school, she meets Edward Cullen (portrayed by future BatmanRobert Pattinson). He and his siblings appear rather aloof at first, but Bella finds herself drawn to him.
Over time, a relationship begins to flourish between the two teenagers. But the young Arizona transplant discovers a shocking secret about her new love interest: He’s a vampire. And not really a teenager at all. It turns out he was born in 1901! He remains in a young body because he stopped aging after being bitten in the early 1900s.
The young vampire lives off animal blood, having sworn off attacking humans long ago. But his lust for Bella isn’t just for her beauty, but the achingly sweet scent of her blood — nearly overwhelming in its enticement. Even being around her causes an internal struggle within him.
It turns out these vampires appreciate the gloomy atmosphere of Forks and lack of direct sunlight for a surprising reason: The sun’s rays won’t kill them but instead make the vampires sparkle! In direct light, people would easily be able to pick them out.
Meanwhile, Bella also befriends Jacob Black (played byTaylor Lautner), a Native American teenager who lives on the Quileute Indian Reservation near Forks. And it turns out the Cullens and Quileute are at odds, with the vampire family not allowed on Native Americans’ land.
Things reach peak intensity when another band of vampires discovers Bella. Reports of local animal attacks have actually been these monsters feeding on residents.
It’s up to Edward, his family, and Jacob to protect her from a violent death. A bloody battle ensues, and Bella emerges safely. And totally in love with Edward.
Credit: Courtesy of The Twilight Saga/YouTube
‘The Twilight Saga: New Moon’ (2009)
The second film came out in 2009 after the first movie launched a cultural phenomenon.
In this sequel, the Cullens host a special 18th birthday celebration for Bella. But things take a shocking turn when she accidentally gets a paper cut, which is too much for Edward’s brother Jasper (Jackson Rathbone) to bear.
Unable to resist the scent, his self-control crumbles, and he attacks. The rest of the family comes to Bella’s rescue, but it’s enough to convince Edward that his relationship with Bella will keep her in constant danger.
He leaves her in order to protect her, which leads the distraught teenager to drop into a deep depression. She cuts herself off from everyone, stewing in despair. She finally emerges, only to discover thrill-seeking activities give her visions of Edward.
Bella becomes an adrenaline junkie, chasing whatever thrill she can find to see her lost beau. Another series of incidents reveal that vampires aren’t the only supernatural beings prowling Forks: Jacob and his family are werewolves!
Through a series of misunderstandings, Edward believes Bella has died. Despondent, he travels to Italy, asking a powerful coven of vampires known as the Volturi to kill him. But they refuse.
With seemingly nothing left to lose, he decides to change their mind by revealing himself as a vampire during a public festival by allowing himself to sparkle in the sunlight. This is strictly forbidden by vampiric law.
Learning of Edward’s intentions, Bella and Edward’s sister Alice (Ashley Greene) travel to Italy in an attempt to stop him. When all the dust settles, the Volturi make a stunning demand of Bella that will change the course of her existence forever.
She must be turned into a vampire herself.
Credit: Courtesy of The Twilight Saga/YouTube
'The Twilight Saga: Eclipse' (2010)
This 2010 film is the third entry in the Twilight series. Edward and Bella discuss the implications of her becoming a vampire. (Edward will ultimately only turn her into a vampire if she marries him.)
Meanwhile, Victoria (Bryce Dallas Howard), another villain in the band of vicious vampires from the first movie, is planning to avenge her lover, who was killed by Edward at the end of the first film.
When Jacob and Bella meet, the werewolf confesses his love for her, forcefully kissing her. She defends herself with a punch, which only leads to a sprained hand on her end.
This leads to tensions becoming increasingly heated between Edward and Jacob. But an uneasy truce develops after Alice has a vision of vampires attacking Forks.
They camp in the mountains, but a jealous Jacob leaves when he learns Bella has agreed to marry Edward. She chases after him and begs him to kiss her. He complies, and the two lock lips! It turns out she has feelings for him as well.
Edward learns of the momentary betrayal, but he knows she loves him more than his rival. Edward and Bella work together to kill Victoria, while Jacob is seriously injured on the battlefield.
In the aftermath, Bella informs members of the Volturi the date of her transformation has been set. She also tells a heartbroken Jacob she has chosen Edward.
Dejected with his "tail" between his legs, he agrees to back off.
Credit: Courtesy of The Twilight Saga/YouTube
'The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1' (2011)
The final book in the Twilight book series was Breaking Dawn, and it was a complete storyline. However, it was split into two films. This 2011 film opens with Edward and Bella’s wedding.
Afterward, they travel to a romantic getaway and have their, um, first time. But it’s far from smooth sailing as Edward fears he’ll accidentally hurt his new bride — Bella insists on consummating their marriage while she’s still a human, and eventually, Edward gives in.
Soon after, Bella discovers she’s pregnant. This alarms her new husband, as he believes his human wife will not survive giving birth to a vampiric baby. He wants her to end the pregnancy, but she refuses.
They fly back to Forks, where Bella’s health is dwindling fast. Things take a turn when she realizes her unborn child is craving blood. As a result, she drinks human blood — thanks to a stash from Edward’s adopted father, Carlisle (Peter Facinelli) — and quickly improves.
But the pregnancy has progressed much more rapidly than normal. At first, Edward didn’t want Bella to maintain the pregnancy, but that changes when he realizes he can read the baby’s thoughts.
Jacob and two other werewolves choose to protect Bella and the Cullens after learning his pack feels the baby is a threat. They want to kill the expectant mother, leading to a family division. (Jacob is actually a narrator of the book, so his plotline is especially hefty in the Breaking Dawn films.)
Bella collapses; it’s time for her child to be born, and an emergency c-section is performed. It’s successful, and they welcome the new baby daughter, who is named Renesmee: a combination of Bella’s and Edward's mothers’ names.
Suddenly, Bella’s heart stops. Jacob performs CPR, and Edward desperately bites her and injects his venom into her heart, trying to turn the new mother into an immortal vampire.
At first, it looks like Bella is gone … and an enraged Jacob is about to kill the baby, blaming her for Bella’s death. But when the two lock eyes, he imprints on her. That imprint means the werewolves can’t kill her, as it would break their most absolute law.
A couple of days later, Bella’s gaunt figure returns to normal, and her eyes open as an immortal vampire.
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'The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2' (2012)
This 2012 film was the final entry in the Twilight franchise, and it’s where your Twilight film marathon ends if you watch the movies in chronological order. Bella’s father, Charlie, is anxious for updates on his daughter’s condition and has been desperate to get in touch with the Cullens.
The vampire family decides it’s time to leave Forks and avoid Charlie discovering who they truly are. (And who his own daughter now is.) But Jacob isn’t having it and reveals himself to Charlie as a werewolf while only hinting at the "change" Bella has undergone.
Charlie visits the Cullens, and they work to avoid him discovering she’s become a vampire while claiming Renesmee is adopted. He never knew she was pregnant. The baby evolves into a little girl within a few months and they learn Renesmee has the power to reveal her thoughts, memories and emotions onto others via touch.
After a visiting vampire cousin sees Renesmee from afar, she goes to Volturi, believing Bella and Edward’s daughter was turned as a child. This is against the law because these types of vampires can’t be trained or restrained.
Anyone caught with one must be killed.
This means the Cullens now have to gather as many witnesses as possible to prove Renesmee was born a vampire. During the gathering, it’s discovered Bella is able to create a mental shield and extend it to others to protect them from other vampire powers.
The Volturi arrive to deliver justice. The Cullens are able to prove the truth about Renesmee, but the Volturi still want to attack and take the gifted child for themselves.
A violent battle breaks out, where several main characters meet grisly ends. This includes the beheading and death of Aro (Michael Sheen), head of the Volturi. However, it’s revealed to be just a vision from Alice.
Aro, fearful the vision will become real, leads a retreat of his group.
Alice sees into the future, where Bella and Edward are with another couple: Jacob and a fully-grown Renesmee. And they lived happily ever after.
Credit: Courtesy of The Twilight Saga/YouTube
Will There Be a 'Twilight 5'?
Stephenie Meyer, the author of the book series, wrote a fifth Twilight novel titled Midnight Sun. It was published in 2020 after a long delay due to pages leaking.
It’s not a new sequel but tells the same story as the first book on the big screen, this time from Edward’s point of view.
However, both Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson have made it clear they are completely finished with the Twilight series and wouldn’t return to the film franchise for a follow-up.
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