'Twilight' sequel 'New Moon' gets the greenlight from Summit

UPDATE: "Twilight" will take in a staggering $70.6 million for the weekend. How many times are you going to see it?

Good news "Twilight" fans — "New Moon" is officially on the way.

After news broke that the film adaptation of Stephenie Meyer's vampire romance made a big $35.7 million in its first day of release — the second biggest opening day gross outside of summer after "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" — Summit greenlighted production on the sequel "New Moon."

Here's the word from Summit Entertainment:

Los Angeles, CA November 22, 2008 — Summit Entertainment announced today that the studio is officially moving forward with the production of NEW MOON, the second installment of its filmed franchise TWILIGHT, the action-packed, modern day vampire love story. The movie will be based on the second novel in author Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series, titled New Moon. The first movie in the TWILIGHT franchise, the self-titled TWILIGHT, arrived in theaters this weekend to sold-out showings.

Stephenie Meyer stated, "I don't think any other author has had a more positive experience with the makers of her movie adaptation than I have had with Summit Entertainment. I'm thrilled to have the chance to work with them again on NEW MOON."

This isn't a big surprise. But, given the early fan reaction — which has ranged from ecstasy to, well, plain unhappy -- is this a good thing? (Or is that a stupid question?)

Is there anything you'd like to see that was left out of "Twilight" included in the "New Moon" movie? (Say, Carlisle's history with the Volturi, perhaps?)

And what about the Jacob dilemma? Is someone starting a "Keep Taylor Lautner" campaign? Do you all want to see him as older-looking werewolf Jacob? If not, which actors would you like to see cast in the role?

As usual, I want to hear all your thoughts and concerns. Leave them below!

Catch up on past Countdown interviews: Robert Pattinson (Parts 1, 2 and 3), Kristen Stewart, author Stephenie Meyer, director Catherine Hardwicke (Parts 1 and 2), screenwriter Melissa Rosenberg, Peter Facinelli, Edi Gathegi and Taylor Lautner.

— Denise Martin

Related:
Complete "Twilight" Countdown coverage
Complete "Twilight" coverage on Hero Complex

Comments

[Erika]

P.s. i loved Charlie. They gave him alot of cute little scenes and lines, like when Edward comes to meet him. He's got his riffle loaded and snappes back into place (So many dad's would be think "Yup! That's how ya do it!") haha. And the thing with the Peeper spray haha. So plriceless!!!

P.S. Adding stuff=good Leaving stuff out=Bad

[YSLGUY]

I'm so exctied for another movie. I hope they get more into the personal story and family dynmaic of the Cullens. It's what makes the story so interesting. Especially Carlisle's history and the Voluturi. I love Pattison as Edward and hope he stays through any movies in the series. I was kind of disappointed in the actor who plays Carlisle though, he's always annoyed me.

[Ashley]

I think Taylor did a great job playing Jacob in the first movie and I'd love to see him in the second. I think the first movie left a lot out and I'd love to have a little more background info in the 2nd one. I know the two friends I went with didn't read any of the books, while I did, and I had to explain some things to them while the movie was playing. Thank you! can't wait until it comes out!

[Lynn]

I am SOOO excited! I loved the movie! I liked the fact that the movie wasn't exactly like the book because it gives the movie a chance to stand for itself. It will be interesting to see what they do with New Moon. I have to say that even though I am completely a "Team Edward" person, I thought "Jacob" was so cute. It would be a shame to change him. I just can't wait to see what they do with Breaking Dawn as a movie--feathers anyone?

[Jared]

i thought edward was so hot by the end of the movie. He really grew on me as the movie went on. I loved the movie so much except i just really wish they had explained more about jasper. They didn't elaborate on him at all and his ability was so important during the hotel scene which i also wish they went into more detail about. I can't wait for new moon! Jacob is so hot!! I actually really thought Billy was hot too strangely enough. Way to go casting all the boys were very good looking!!!!!!!!!! NEW MOON IS GOING TO BE SO GOOD!

[Chelsea Cinko]

Yeah Twilight is amazing. Well the book atleast. That movie was not exactly "Twilight". Well, the beginning was fine till it got to the part where Charlie and Bella were in the cruiser. They didnt even have the convo about the vehicle. And then Bella is no suppose to meet Jacob till the La Push trip... Eric says "home girl" and "chillax". What happened to the dance before Prom? She slips on ice and falls.. doesnt happen, she is suppose to catch herself on the truck. Also, the scene where Edward saves her... umm she doesnt have an Ipod, she is suppose to be looking at her tires.. and not paying attention then Edward saves her and his shoulder imprint is suppose to be on the truck where he braced himself... There was just so much that was wrong with this movie.. I really hope that the next ones will be alot better.. I MEAN ALOT!!!! It just disappionted me. I really hope some decides to be the rights and reproduces it.. so that it can maybe bring the romance and the feeling that the books gives you to actual life..

[shanti]

Omg Twilight was AUH-MAZING!!! i cry when edward first appared on the screen. i was really surprized how funny it was. but for sure i cant wait to see new moon on the big screen. but im kinda worried about how it will turn out because when edward left it was so depressing and its just jacob and bella so mabe they should combined the 2nd and 3rd book together in to a movie. alsoi think taylor lautner should stay hes so hot and it would mess up the movie if the cast sombody else he really didnt have that much of an roll in the twilight movie so hopefully he'll shine in the 2nd movie XD

[Brandi]

The movie was very rushed and i didnt like it at all, they cut out too many important scenes. In my opinnion the actors didnt portray the characters as i had hoped. I thought edward's room was supposed to be big, I didn't picture bella's room with kid stuff in it like the old school work or whatever that was... i didn't picture her house that big either. the movie also should have shown alice and jasper more. the movie should have told about the voltouri but the actors should be kept for the next movie and hopefully it will be a better movie. even before the movie come out i wasn't excited. i like the books 10 times more than the movie.

[Lisa]

Seriously....for those who gave the movie a bad review... Do you understand what a 30-40 million dollar budget buys you? That is almost just the salary of a mainstream actor. To put it into perspective... Harry Potter, the newest movie had a 300 million dollar budget. 10 x that of Twilight. It would have been impossible to put the entire story in 2 hours... For what I did see, I really enjoyed the movie and saw it twice and will definately see New Moon.

[Lit Major81]

I have read all the books and absolutely loved them. I saw the movie and thought that it was a great job considering the budget. I would have liked to see the movie be a little longer so that they could have developed the relationship between Edward and Bella more. They tried to focus too much on James, Laurent, and Victoria. That is not what the first book was about. The first book was about the development of Edward and Bella's relationship, that is what the fans care about. They needed to include the blood typing scene. When Bella tells Edward that she can smell blood is a crucial moment. Edward realizes more than ever how very different and unique she is. It also helps to show the contrast between how she feels as a human, terrified of blood, yet she wants to become a vampire that survives on blood. Maybe I missed it but I am pretty sure they never actually told each other that they loved each other. It was just very rushed. I think mosts fans would have sat through another hour in order to see more of their relationship grow.

[patty]

I like the movie as well. However, if I didn't read the books I would have been a little confused. They could have made it better by letting us get inside Edward's head and listen to what other people were thinking. For instance, when he was walking across the schoolyard with Bella to the horrified looks of other classmates, it would have been nice to hear what those classmates were thinking (i.e., "freek", "what's she doing with him", etc.)

[Siobhain]

I am excited for New Moon. I only hope that they dig deeper into the emotions of the characters. I liked Twilight but the achy, pull and push of Edward and Bella was missing. It was too rushed. I understand that this was a low budget film and that they did the best they could with the money they had but I hope that with New Moon they do the film properly. The fans deserve to see Stephanie Meyers emotions of the characters brought to life.

[Alicia]

I loved Twilight!!!!!!!! I seen the move twice! I can't wait for New Moon to come out. Please keep all the actors and actress from twilight, i don't think it would be the same if you changed them up. Loved the Books.....

[miller dane]

I loved the book and the movie Twilight and can't wait for New Moon

[Marylynn]

OMG I LOVE TWILIGHT!!!! i think that in the second movie they should use bella's visions of edward (when she does all the crazy stuff to see him) to show what edward is doing in Italy and such, it will make it so he is in it a little more. Taylor should DEF stay as jacob and i believe that New Moon will be great and i trust the writters will find a way to keep edward in more of the movie! I CANT WAIT FOR NEW MOON TO BE RELEASED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[brandi]

Thought the movie was good and have already seen it twice but I was a little disappointed that there were things added to the movie that never happened in twilight and parts of twilight were left out... such as the whole dazzle convo, bella didn't leave her jacket in his car, the volturi, the fact that jake and bella met on the beach, the line "the cullens aren't allowed here" wasn't said, jake didn't tell bella that edward was one of the "cold ones" but they added in the science trip and james and victoria and laurent had more parts which i can understand cause if i had signed on for 3 movies i would probably want more than a tiny part in the first one... i really like same KEEP THE SAME ACTORS!!!!! ESPECIALLY KRISTEN, ROB, KELLAN (along with the rest of the cullens but I love kellan as Emmet), TAYLOR... loved Esme and Carlise the actors did a great job!
**** If you read the books you can honestly sit down and highlight parts and categorize them into DESPRIPTIONS (which would be one person or object so that cuts down the book cause like Catherine Hardwicke says Stephenie uses a lot of words to describe someone or something), SCRIPT, EMOTIONS/ACTING.... it would probably work the best and keep the fans very happy!!!!

[PC]

I think the they should cast Steven Strait as the older and more mature Jacob Black.

[Brandi]

LOVEd the movie i was crying oh yeah im that obessed. i use to be a jacob fan until seeing the movie now im alllll edward but new moon might bring me back. but not if taylor is jacob. hes a great actor dont get me wrong but i always pictures stephen strait as jacob. if just fits in my opinon.

But yeah new moon will be awesome!!!im so excited!!

[Cassandra]

I think that Taylor played a good Jacob and I think they casted him well, he isn't supposed to be a grown man, and as the movies progress Taylor will begin to look older anyways.

[Lindsay]

I loved the movie! I was there opening night, and I thought production was well done, considering the complexity of Bella and Edward's relationship. The fact that Summit Entertainment gave the green light for "New Moon" is fantastic and I think will only continue and strengthen the craze for this modern vampire love story. The actors fit their parts perfectly, and as the books and movie progress, we are really going to see that. Jacob especially should stay Jacob. With the movie technology as it is today, they will find a way to make Jacob appear older and wiser, and of course a gruesome, loving wolf. Congrats to the cast and Stephanie Meyers!

[amy]

Ok, So it took me seeing the movie twice to be able to say it was a good movie. The first time I saw twilight I was so furious. It was rushed and cheesy. There were some scenes that were so flawed, I still haven't been able to understand how the director didn't see it. For example you can see thier harnesses in some scenes, when emmett and edward collide at the baseball scene you can see emmett look down to jump on the vault. I'm excited to see that new moon has a green light but they really need to take thier time and put some more money into it especially the Special effects. There is no reason that twilight shouldn't be as good as the Harry Potter movies (as far as special effects, etc). As for Jacob, well, he does have to become pretty big and tall. I don't know how they are going to get Taylor that way. If they have to bring in someone a little cuter and more buff, I wouldn't mind.

[Lauren]

Keep Taylor Lautner as Jacob Black! In fact, I think all of the other 3 books have to include the same actresses and actors that appeared in this movie. I hate it when you hear that some people want to quit and get out. If those rumors are true, I wish those people were never signed to begin with. I wish they would have let Taylor and the Cullens have a bigger role. There wasn’t enough character development. For instance, Rosalie – they should have mentioned that she was supposed to be with Edward, but he didn’t want her. It helps explain why she’s so grouchy, etc. I really loved who they cast for Charlie and Emmett. I was a bit sad they didn’t include Bella passing out in science when they were doing the blood lab. I also was a bit shocked seeing the Cullens house. I pictured it more as a big white house in the “country” with a all around porch or something – not all those windows – or so modern. I wish they would have included Carlisle’s history with the Volturi and his office. Although, I guess that’d be hard to include since they didn’t know who they’d cast for the role of the Volturi. The running and tree climbing looked a little silly in the movie, but they didn’t have a lot of money to work with. The ballet studio scene turned out well – her getting hurt, etc. I hope New Moon flows better – the Twilight movie was a bit jumpy and fast-paced. It’s like all of the ‘wanting,’ ‘wondering,’ ‘waiting,’ and ‘falling in love’ got rushed. I agree that people either loved it or hated it. I’ve read all the books and am a huge fan – I thought it was okay – and would go see all the next movies regardless of how they turn out. My husband hated it – he hasn’t read the books – was confused and said the plot was stupid. (His opinion doesn’t really count!) On TV this morning, these older people were saying they were disappointed there was not a lot of blood, sex, etc. and I was like, “HELLO! If you READ THE BOOKS, you’d know that it’s not the TYPICAL vampire movie.” Like many others, I was laughing out loud with the rest of the theater during a lot of the parts (I think that’s why my husband didn’t like it – he didn’t understand why the fan blowing Bella’s scent at Edward was such a big deal). And people are worried about Jacob working out? If anything, Rob P. needed to work out! Good job overall!

[Kristen Hurst]

i think twilight was a HUGE disapointment. It was rushed threw and Edward acted like he need a hit of his cocaine the first hour. alice only said like 2 lines and emmet and jasper were screwed over on their part crucialy. i was very disapointed in the whole thing. if i wouldnt have read the book i would have been so lost threw this whole thing.

[Samantha]

I am thrilled that New Moon is officially a go. And of coarse they shouldn't get another Jacob! Taylor Lautner does a great job portraying Jacob Black. He has already started working out and eating protein so that he can size up for New Moon. As for wanting to see more...well, you can't fit everything into the movie that was in the book. Overall, I think Twilight was a great movie.

[Erica]

I went to see the movie yesterday and had such high hopes only to feel let down. I'm actually in shock. I know they had a low budget and that movies are never as good as the book, etc. but come on I hate to think that the author really loved how her book was portrayed on screen. I think that Kristen Stewart did and excellent job of playing an awkward, teenage Bella. Rob looks really good for the part of Edward, but I don't think that his parts were supposed to be as laughable as they were. I don't think that they should have used up so much time showing the nomad vamps attacking unknowns and used the time to develop the relationship between Edward and Bella. And what was with Charlie and Bella eating in a diner? That was pointless. And the twinkle sound effects when Edward is in the sun was ridiculous.

I guess I'm the most disapointed in that the book was so intimate, you could really feel what the characters were feeling and the movie barely scratched the surface. I hope that New Moon is a little more subdued and dark as opposed to light and comical.