When Twilight was released on DVD, it sold 3.8 million units in the first two days, generating more than 180 million dollars in DVD sales. New Moon was even better, selling 4 million copies in the first weekend. Producers are hoping it will earn at least the same as Twilight, if not more. Now that the time is drawing near for the Eclipse DVD release, will it manage to set a new record for the franchise?
The hype surrounding the Twilight series is based on the huge success Stephenie Meyer achieved with her first novel. Additional sequels followed the pattern as the audience was hungry for new adventures of their heroes, Bella, Edward and Jacob. As the movies were released, fans were thrilled by an opportunity to see the story in film. With Breaking Dawn announced for 2010, it will be four movies in four years, maximizing the marketing effect.
The producers wanted to take Eclipse in a slightly different direction than the first two movies, so they hired David Slade to direct it, since Chris Weitz turned them down, stating that he was too busy with completing New Moon. Apart from adding more action than in previous movies, Slade was more concerned with telling a good story, than simple being different.
New action scenes have pushed Eclipse into action/ horror-thriller, which will certainly appeal to a much broader audience than Twilight and New Moon. As the terror spreads throughout Seattle, Belle is caught between her lover vampire Edward and her friend werewolf Jacob, who also has feelings for her.
The ancient rivalry between vampires and werewolves is held at bay by a fragile truce, to which both parties agreed only because of Bella. The situation is complicated by Victoria, who is looking to enact her revenge upon Bella for the death of her boyfriend in a previous chapter of the saga. Edward and Jacob will have to work together if they are to stop Victoria's army of newborn vampires and save Bella.
"Bring back Rachel" was the most seen message on Twitter on July 29th 2009. This was the day when Summit Entertainment announced that they are replacing her with Bryce Dallas Howard as Victoria in Eclipse. They even made her a tribute video on You tube. Rachel stated that she was overwhelmed by the fans' support. However, even though she did a good job interpreting Victoria in the first two movies, we have to be fair and say that Bryce Dallas Howard managed the role quite well in Eclipse, playing a villain.
The final sequel of the saga, Breaking Dawn, will enter pre-production in 2010, although Summit Entertainment still hasn't approved the final adaptation. Melissa Rosenberg, who wrote the screenplays for the first three movies, is also in charge of the fourth.
One other thing they are missing is a director. The success of Twilight Saga: Eclipse will surely influence David Slade's chances of being selected for the job, but the rumors have it that Academy Award winner Bill Condon is also being considered. One thing is for sure, who ever is chosen will have huge shoes to fill.
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