Twilight TV Show in the Works – The Hollywood Reporter

Break out the sparkle.

The Twilight Saga is getting the television treatment as sources tell The Hollywood Reporter that a series version of author Stephenie Meyer’s best-selling book series is in early development via Lionsgate Television.

Sinead Daly, whose credits include Tell Me Lies, The Walking Dead: World Beyond, Raised by Wolves, Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency and The Get Down, is attached to write the script for Twilight. Sources say Daly is working with Lionsgate TV to determine what the specific take on Twilight will be and if it will be a remake of Meyer’s books or a different offshoot.

The Twilight TV series is in its infancy and does not yet have a network/platform as sources say the studio, which controls the rights to the franchise, plans to lead the development on the project before shopping the rights to the package. There is not yet a timeline for when the Twilight series will be taken out to potential buyers.

Sources say author Meyer is expected to be involved in the television adaptation. Wyck Godfrey and former Lionsgate Motion Picture Group co-president Erik Feig, who during his tenure at Summit Entertainment bought the rights to the Twilight book series after Paramount Pictures passed, are both attached to exec produce the television take. Godfrey’s Temple Hill banner produced all five of the movies that Feig’s Summit distributed. The film franchise, which made stars of Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner, collectively grossed more than $3.4 billion worldwide.  

Reps for Lionsgate Television declined to comment.

Twilight is a major piece of Lionsgate’s library. In 2017, five years after Breaking Dawn: Part 2 wrapped up Meyer’s film adaptation, Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer told Wall Street during an earnings call that “there are a lot more stories to be told, and we’re ready to tell them when our creators are ready to tell those stories,” in reference to both Twilight and The Hunger Games franchises.

Word of a Twilight TV series comes as Lionsgate has been negotiating with multiple bidders to potentially spin off its studio business and premium cable network Starz by the end of September 2023. The Lionsgate studio business, which includes film and TV production divisions, grew revenue 25 percent to nearly $900 million in the third quarter.

Lionsgate TV also recently announced plans to revive Spartacus with a sequel series from creator Steven S. DeKnight. Lionsgate TV produced both Spartacus: Blood and Sand and the prequel miniseries Gods of the Arena as the franchise also remains a valuable piece of the studio’s library. Lionsgate and Starz also recently revived Party Down, and the studio has been exploring a sequel to former Showtime comedy Weeds, as reboots remain easier to both market and cut through the clutter while also helping to increase the value of years-old library titles.

The Twilight films recently moved their streaming home to NBCUniversal’s Peacock after a stint at Netflix.

The timing of the Twilight series comes as HBO Max recently confirmed that it was in early development of a Harry Potter television adaptation with plans for a decade-long run of J.K. Rowling’s beloved book series with the controversial author attached as an executive producer. Genre programming continues to remain in high demand as Amazon last year launched a new take on The Lord of the Rings, with Warner Bros. Discovery also planning on making new installments of the feature films based on the J.R.R. Tolkien works.

Daly is repped by WME, Kaplan/Perrone Entertainment and attorney Ashley Silver.