Twilight Cast Members Finally Addressed The Elephant In The Room
The "Twilight" series of films has become a ripe ground for parody since the first movie in the series was released in 2008. There were entire films dedicated to poking fun of the gloomy, rainy world that Stephanie Meyers created, including 2010's "Vampires Suck" and 2012's "Breaking Wind." Meanwhile, shows like "Saturday Night Live" and ABC's short-lived "The Muppets" also had their fun gently mocking the hyper-serious film universe.
Similarly, Season 3 of FX's "What We Do in the Shadows" — which has affectionately parodied many different Vampire-related properties while telling its own story about a lovable band of bloodsuckers — mocked an infamous scene from the first "Twilight" movie in which the Cullen family uses their heightened abilities to play an ultra-intense game of baseball. The vamps on "Shadows" find themselves playing a game of kickball against a team of werewolves on a snowy, moonless night. Let's just say victory isn't as easy for them as it was for the Cullens.
A few members of the Cullen clan have finally told the world what they thought of that "What We Do in the Shadows" parody, and their reactions might surprise you.
The Twilight actors were definitely amused by What We Do in the Shadows
During a C2E2 panel, Ashley Greene (who portrayed Alice Cullen), Jackson Rathbone (who played Jasper Hale), and Kellan Lutz (who played Emmett Cullen) expressed affection for both the original scene and the parody in "What We Do in the Shadows." Per SYFY Wire, Greene said she was excited by the parody. She even said that she would have liked to appear in the "What We Do in the Shadows" scene, but that she "did not get invited."
The actress added that it was "incredible" that Twilight still looms so large over the pop culture landscape in general over a decade after the first film's release. "[T]o see it, still to this day, be relevant and see that people are still watching it and they're introducing it to their kids, which is a crazy thing to say," she said, adding that she knows of first-generation Twihards who are now old enough to have children of their own to bring into the fold.
The "What We Do in the Shadows" parody received a lot of approving press when it was released, with raves coming from Paste Magazine and Yahoo! News. So, the "Twilight" franchise's actors' approval is just a cherry atop the critical cake.
There were some filming difficulties for both sets of actors
Both crews faced their own challenges while filming their individual athletic scenes. According to SYFY Wire's reporting of the C2E2 panel, Jackson Rathbone described the "Twilight" shoot as "gloomy and rainy," while Ashley Greene added that it was "freezing." The actors had to stand out in the damp chill without warming tents, per the actress' comments. The chilling shoot was planned by director Catherine Hardwicke who, per a dive into the scene published by Insider in 2020, deliberately shot when it would be coldest and most overcast because otherwise, all the vampires would have had to sparkle in the sunlight, per an infamous part of Stephanie Meyers' lore.
Kellan Lutz, in particular, didn't seem to mind the inclement weather. "It was just really fun to be out there in nature and play a sport," he said during the C2E2 panel. Greene, meanwhile, admitted that she lied about being able to play baseball, and was pleasantly surprised at how well the scene turned out. During the Insider deep-dive, Hardwicke revealed that Greene figured out how to pitch by watching her stunt double on the mound.
Hardwicke wanted the scene to be memorable. "I did think it was about the craziest thing to do, to get to make a vampire baseball sequence. So I was like, 'We've just got to make this as amazing as we can,'" she told Insider.
Over on the "What We Do in The Shadows" set, per executive story editor and writer Sarah Naftalisa at a New York Comic Con press roundtable (via SYFY Wire), the cast had to contend with playing kickball in six inches of snow during a January shoot in Toronto. That's difficult even under the best of circumstances.
Is there still hope for a What We Do in the Shadows and Twilight crossover?
The "Twilight" phenomenon carries onward, with Meyers recently having published "Midnight Sun," which takes place entirely from Edward Cullen's perspective, whereas the Twilight Saga took place from Bella Swan's. Per an interview with The Wrap, some of the cast seems to be fairly interested in returning for a sequel movie. "I so wish we could make a movie with that. Emmett has so many more funny lines in that one. It's awesome," Kellan Lutz remarked at the notion of creating another "Twilight" universe film.
"What We Do in the Shadows," meanwhile, was recently renewed for a fourth season (per Deadline), and the show's popularity continues to grow ever larger. Fans of both franchises will have to stay tuned to find out how things work out for the "Shadow" vamps — and if any Twilight cast members eventually cross over to play ball with their gang.