Twilight was released during a time when the fantasy genre was at its peak. With Harry Potter gone, the teenage audience sought a new film series that could help them move on. And that’s when the first film arrived, starring Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, and Taylor Lautner in the central roles. It was a perfect mixture of romance and fantastical elements. While the majority of cinephiles may have already watched every film of the franchise, in case you are a newcomer or someone who wishes to watch the entire series once again, here are the Twilight movies in order. We’ve discussed both chronological and release date order.
How Many Twilight Movies Are There?
To be precise, The Twilight Saga consists of four movies, but the final one was split into two parts, so it became five movies in total.
The Twilight Saga Movies Chronological Order
To understand the story of any film, it’s very important to watch it in chronological order, regardless of the release order. So, if you wonder what the chronological order of Twilight films looks like, here you go.
- Twilight
- The Twilight Saga: New Moon
- The Twilight Saga: Eclipse
- The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1
- The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2
1. Twilight
- Release Date: November 21, 2008
- Director: Catherine Hardwicke
- Cast: Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Billy Burke, Peter Facinelli
- Run Time: 121 minutes
Twilight laid the foundation for the unusual love story that knew no boundaries. It introduced us to the shy teenager Bella Swan, who leaves Phoenix, Arizona, and moves to the small town of Forks, Washington, to live with his father, a police officer. After joining the new school, she gets intrigued by her mysterious classmate, Edward Cullen. However, he initially pretends as if he does not care. In fact, when Bella sits next to her in class one day, he gets repulsed by her.
However, one day, Bella discovers Edward’s vampire identity, but instead of getting scared of him, she falls in love. Their love deepens day by day, and she finally meets Edward’s ‘vegetarian’ family, who do not prefer feeding on human blood.
The film depicts Bella’s desire to leave her humanity behind and transform into a vampire in order to be with Edward. However, the man she loves denies her wish as he doesn’t want Bella to forgo her humanity.
2. The Twilight Saga: New Moon
- Release Date: November 20, 2009
- Director: Chris Weitz
- Cast: Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner, Ashley Greene, Rachelle Lefevre, Billy Burke, Peter Facinelli, Nikki Reed, Kellan Lutz, Jackson Rathbone, Anna Kendrick, Michael Sheen, Dakota Fanning
- Run Time: 130 minutes
The Twilight Saga: New Moon is the second film in the Twilight movies, where Bella becomes concerned after having a nightmare in which she has grown old, while Edward remains young. Coming back to reality, it’s her eighteenth birthday party at the Cullens’ place, where after getting her hands cut with a paper, she is saved by Edward when Jasper attacks her.
Edward and his family leave the town to protect Bella. However, this act of the vampire family pushes Bella into depression, and she isolates herself for a couple of months. Later, Jacob pulls her out of the despair and helps her move on. Bella discovers Jacob’s werewolf identity and their long-standing enmity with the vampires.
On the other side, Edward plans to get himself killed by the Volturi, believing that Bella has died. However, when Bella shows up in front of him, he promises her that he will never leave her ever again.
3. The Twilight Saga: Eclipse
- Release Date: June 30, 2010
- Director: David Slade
- Cast: Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner, Bryce Dallas Howard, Billy Burke, Dakota Fanning
- Run Time: 123 minutes
The Twilight Saga: Eclipse finds Bella struggling with her romance with Edward as she has started developing unusual feelings for Jacob. However, she eventually chooses Edward over Jacob and decides to share this news with her father.
The film also centers around a group of new vampires led by Victoria Sutherland, who wants to take revenge on Bella and the Cullens. So, Cullens and the Quileutes have to form an alliance to protect Bella from the new threat.
4. The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn- Part 1
- Release Date: November 18, 2011
- Director: Bill Condon
- Cast: Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner, Billy Burke, Peter Facinelli, Elizabeth Reaser, Kellan Lutz, Nikki Reed, Jackson Rathbone, Ashley Greene
- Run Time: 117 minutes
In 2010, it was declared that the final movie of Twilight would be divided into two parts; the first one being released on November 18, 2011. This movie centres around Bella and Edward’s wedding and honeymoon. When Bella conceives their child, Edward gets worried, as no human can survive after giving birth to a vampire’s child. So, he asks to abort the baby, but Bella denies.
With months passing, Bella’s health keeps deteriorating as the fetus keeps growing at an accelerated rate. However, Bella eventually delivers a healthy girl but lies unconscious for a couple of days. Then comes the moment when she transforms into a vampire.
5. The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn- Part 2
- Release Date: November 16, 2012
- Director: Bill Condon
- Cast: Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner, Billy Burke, Peter Facinelli, Elizabeth Reaser, Kellan Lutz, Nikki Reed, Jackson Rathbone, Ashley Greene, Michael Sheen, Dakota Fanning
- Run Time: 115 minutes
Bella returns from the dead and starts exploring her vampire abilities. She bonds with every member of the family and takes care of Renesmee. Volturi believes that the child can cause harm to the Cullens, so they gather the vampires from all over the world and decide to kill her. However, Bella, Edward, and the Cullens join forces with Jacob and the Quileute werewolves and prepare themselves for the significant showdown.
The Twilight Movies Release Date Order
There is no difference in the chronological and release date order of the Twilight movies; however, we have listed them below to make things easier for you.
- Twilight (November 21, 2008)
- The Twilight Saga: New Moon (November 20, 2009)
- The Twilight Saga: Eclipse (June 30, 2010)
- The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1 (November 18, 2011)
- The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2 (November 16, 2012)
Shashank Shakya