Kristen Stewart Looks Back on ‘Twilight’: “I’d Do It All Over Again If I Had the Chance”

More than a decade after the Twilight saga came to an end, Kristen Stewart remains closely associated with Bella Swan, the role that launched her into global stardom. During a recent appearance on Owen Thiele’s In Your Dreamspodcast while promoting her upcoming film The Wrong Girls, the actress reflected on that defining chapter of her career and spoke candidly about how she feels whenever Twilight continues to come up in conversation.

When asked whether she has grown tired of answering questions about Twilight, Stewart said the answer is a firm no. According to the actress, the franchise has become an inseparable part of her career, and she finds it amusing rather than frustrating that people are still fascinated by it so many years later.

“No, I’m not annoyed at all. It’s actually really funny because we made five of those movies over five years, and then we never stopped talking about them. While they were coming out, we were constantly asked to look at them from the outside, which was impossible. You know what I mean? People would ask, ‘So what do you think about all of this?’ And I was just making movies while everyone was freaking out about them. I honestly didn’t know.”

Stewart admitted that at the time, neither she nor the rest of the cast fully understood just how enormous Twilightwould become. To them, it was simply another film project that everyone was trying their best to make. It was only after the franchise exploded into a worldwide cultural phenomenon that they realized the scale of its impact.

Looking back on the production, Stewart described the experience as both “tight-knit” and “really weird.” She revealed that she poured everything she had into the films and was determined to make them more than just another teen fantasy franchise.

“It was really close. It was really weird, man. I was this little pretentious loser who just wanted to make it as good as possible. I took it so seriously. Rob (Robert Pattinson) and I were like, ‘This is serious. Let’s try to elevate this thing.’ And then someone would be like, ‘Just say your age and read the lines.’”

The actress also believes that the cast’s youth gave Twilight its unique emotional energy. Although the films revolved around vampires, werewolves and supernatural romance, she and her co-stars were simply young actors trying to make those emotions feel authentic.

“On some level, we were all teenagers about it. We were constantly thinking, ‘Oh my God, this is embarrassing. I just want it to feel real, but everyone keeps making it impossible for it to be real.’ Then you look back on it and think, ‘No, it actually was real.’ It’s weird, kind of sick, but anything that feels excessive is perfect for that stage of life when you think you’re dying because you’re in love. At that age, nobody does anything subtly.”

Although Stewart has spent years distancing herself from Bella Swan by pursuing independent and auteur-driven films, she said she would gladly return to the franchise if given the opportunity.

“I’d do it again. Yeah, I loved it.”

Released between 2008 and 2012, the Twilight saga consisted of five films adapted from Stephenie Meyer’s bestselling novels. The franchise became a worldwide box-office sensation, grossing more than $3.3 billion globally and turning Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner into A-list stars almost overnight. Bella Swan remains Stewart’s signature role, even though she has spent years proving she is far more than the heroine of a blockbuster teen romance.

Following the end of Twilight, Stewart deliberately shifted her focus toward independent and arthouse cinema. She collaborated with acclaimed filmmakers including Olivier Assayas, Kelly Reichardt, David Cronenberg and Pablo Larraín. Films such as Clouds of Sils Maria, Personal Shopper, Spencer, Crimes of the Future and Love Lies Bleedingearned her widespread critical acclaim and showcased a range that extended well beyond her early blockbuster fame.

In 2022, Stewart reached a major career milestone when she received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress for her portrayal of Princess Diana in Spencer. The nomination marked a turning point after years of carefully building a reputation through artistically ambitious projects rather than commercial franchises.

In addition to acting, Stewart has expanded into directing and screenwriting. In recent years, she has devoted increasing attention to developing her own creative projects, expressing a desire to tell stories that offer fresh perspectives on women and the LGBTQ+ community.

Stewart’s personal life has also remained a subject of public fascination. During the height of Twilight's popularity, her real-life relationship with Robert Pattinson captivated fans around the world. However, their romance ended following the highly publicized 2012 scandal in which Stewart was photographed in an intimate moment with Snow White and the Huntsman director Rupert Sanders. She later issued a public apology, and the incident became one of Hollywood’s most talked-about celebrity controversies of the decade.

In the years since, Stewart has rarely revisited that chapter of her life. Instead, she has focused on her career and personal happiness. Openly bisexual, she has frequently spoken about the importance of expanding LGBTQ+ representation within the film industry.

Today, Stewart shares a stable and fulfilling life with screenwriter Dylan Meyer. The couple went public with their relationship in 2019, announced their engagement in 2021 and married in an intimate ceremony in 2025 attended by family and close friends. Meyer has since become both Stewart’s life partner and creative collaborator on several projects.

At 36, Kristen Stewart is no longer the young actress struggling under the immense pressure of fronting one of Hollywood’s biggest franchises. Instead, she has grown into a respected filmmaker and performer who can look back on her past with perspective and appreciation. While she has built a remarkably diverse career recognized by critics around the world, she still holds a special place in her heart for Twilight—the film series that changed her life forever. And as she now says without hesitation, if given the chance, she would gladly become Bella Swan all over again.