Netflix Revives Stephenie Meyer’s Abandoned Twilight Novel: 2 Decades Later, an Unexpected Comeback

A story told by Edward

Midnight Sun revisits the events of the first Twilight book through Edward Cullen’s eyes. Netflix’s announced animated series will bring that version of the story to the screen.

The project follows the franchise’s live-action film adaptations, which helped keep Twilight prominent in pop culture. The novel’s path to readers, however, began long before the new series announcement.

The leak halted progress

Meyer began writing Midnight Sun around 2003 while working on Twilight. The companion novel might have appeared after Breaking Dawn, published in 2008, but that year an early draft’s first twelve chapters were posted online without her consent.

Meyer called the leak “a huge violation of [her] rights as an author” and placed the story on indefinite hold. She later posted the leaked manuscript on her website so curious readers could access it without seeking out the illegally distributed copy.

A long-awaited publication

For years, fans had no reason to expect a finished book. Meyer worked on other projects, including The Host and The Chemist, while Midnight Sun remained incomplete. In 2020, Meyer announced that she had finished the novel, which was published that year. Its Netflix adaptation may introduce Edward’s perspective on Twilight to a new audience, though the story’s delayed release means its reception came well after the franchise’s initial peak.