23 Jan 2012 04:17:00
It is a quandary faced by studio executives over the years: what to do with a successful movie franchise that has run out of books to adapt. But this may not be an obstacle for the Twilight films, after Lionsgate chief executive Jon Feltheimer suggested his company may continue the series beyond the November release of Breaking Dawn Part 2, supposedly the final instalment in the vampire romance saga.
Lionsgate bought Twilight studio Summit for more than $400m on Friday, and one of Feltheimer's first proclamations was to suggest his company wants to maximise profits from its newly acquired asset. The Twilght series has so far generated almost $2.5bn at the global box office.
"I'm anticipating Breaking Dawn Part 2 being $700m-plus in worldwide box office," Feltheimer told the LA Times. Asked if he would like to see the series continue, he said: "It's hard for me to imagine a movie that does $700m-plus doesn't have ongoing value. It's an amazing franchise that they have done a great job of maintaining with absolutely no deterioration. So the simple answer is: 'Boy I hope so.'"
While the prospect of more Twilight films may delight fans, it will come as a surprise to author Stephenie Meyer, who wrote the books on which the movies are based. She has published four novels in the series, along with spin-off title The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner, and has no plans to continue it. The latter novella does not appear an obvious candidate for a big-screen transfer, as it is not told from the perspective of any of the main characters in the Twilight series. However, another source told the LA Times that Lionsgate may take advantage of the studio's in-house television unit to transfer Twilight to the small screen.
Breaking Dawn Part 2 is directed by Bill Condon and continues the story of Bella Swan, who at the end of the last film was transformed into a vampire by her bloodsucking new husband, Edward Cullen. It will be released in the US and UK on 16 November.
