The end of an era: Why we’ll miss the Twilight saga

TWILIGHT FANS will now have to find a new way to occupy their time. Meredith Norman/The Omniscient.

You cannot help but grin at the overwhelming feeling of excitement growing inside of you. You and your friends sit in the darkened theater, dressed up in your best fan-made or store-bought t-shirts. You have been waiting an entire year for this, and now it is finally here. The all-too-familiar Summit Entertainment logo appears on the screen, and the music begins. The conclusion you have been waiting so long for is finally here.

“I’m a fan because it’s a love story. It’s not something I can relate to—I’ve never met a vampire—but it’s exciting,” junior Giana Bonomolo said. “It’s a series that we have practically grown up with, like Harry Potter.”

The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn-Part 2 finally hit theaters Nov. 16, and fans of the mega-movie franchise, based on Stephenie Meyer’s book series of the same name, could not wait to see it. But now that the series is over, some dedicated Twilight fans will have to find some new way to occupy their time. With no more movies to look forward to, some fans were left with a feeling of sadness over having to part with their favorite on-screen characters.

“I’m a major Twihard,” senior Dionna Bright said. “I love Twilight, but now that it’s over, I don’t have anything to look forward to movie wise. Now that we don’t have the Harry Potter series, or the Twilight series, I’m sad I don’t have anything to look forward to.”

The fifth and final movie installment has grossed over $700 million worldwide as of Dec. 17.

“It was popular, but originally I wasn’t a super-fan like everyone else,” senior Samantha Michels said. “A friend of mine who had read the books convinced me to go to the first movie with her and I guess I just sort of fell in love with the notion of vampires and the love story. As the movies went on they just got more exciting and more interesting, but part two of Breaking Dawn is absolutely my favorite.”

After an entire year of waiting, fans eagerly went to go see the final film, hoping to feed that thirst for all things Twilight, eager to see if the end of the movie offered some surprises.

“The end of the series was good,” Bonomolo said. “The ending of the movie was true to the book; but whoever saw that last movie, you’ll know what I’m talking about when I say there’s a part of the movie where everyone in the movie theatre practically screams and jumps out of their seats.”

With the end of the movies, it can be hard saying goodbye to characters you have watched on-screen for so long. The entire Twilight series turned actors Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner into global superstars.

“I like [The Twilight movies] because Jacob (Lautner) is so hot,” sophomore Shontai Totten said. “Twilight tells a great story, and I really like Jacob’s character; now that [Twilight’s] over, there’s nothing to look forward to. You were always looking forward to another movie, and seeing more of the characters, and now it’s just over.”

–By Meredith Norman