Twenty Years Later, We’re Still Team 'Twilight'

Celebrations of the saga’s longevity are now in full swing. In honor of the novel’s anniversary on September 30, superfans can sink their teeth into an array of deluxe collectors’ editions featuring sprayed edges and exclusive artwork. Additionally, the newly relaunched Twilight Saga Youtube channel is livestreaming the series’ five movies on repeat for free through September 14. For those less partial to the laptop movie, the films will be returning to the big screen for a re-release in October.

While the fanbase primarily consisted of young adults and teenage millennials at the time of the series’ new releases, newer fans were never privy to the heated disputes of online forums or the joy of learning patience through lining up outside theaters and bookstores. Gen Z readers of “Twilight” more likely discovered the series through brooding Tiktok edits highlighting the films’ notoriously cool color palette.

Being just short of a year older than the novel myself, I didn’t witness the saga’s initial explosion. The novels’ alluring covers spoke to me much later from the shelf of my seventh grade classroom. But even for those who indulged after Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson became household names, cracking open the first book felt like standing on the shoulders of giants, the adoption of a longstanding tradition.

We’re proud to be Twihards. But what made us so addicted?

It could be for romance. In an era where fans cheer Sabrina Carpenter on for getting the hots over the bare minimum in her song “Tears” and the fun of reality television is spoiled by situationships, it’s safe to say the young people crave consistency and comfort. Even if the sullen Cullen isn’t necessarily one’s type, there’s something endearing about the devotion that hitching up with an immortal vampire that’s irrevocably obsessed with you implies.

And if there’s one thing that the newest generation of media consumers still love, it’s a good shipping war. Was it ever really a question whether Bella would end up with Edward? Surely not. But the fraught romantic tensions that arose between Bella and Jacob, however short-lived, provided valuable fuel for discourse. Fans who have taken to the series too late to speculate about endgame enjoy the debate in a different form: We still love to beat the dead horse of who was better for Bella. Gen Z therapy-speak has never looked better than when applied to Edward’s possessive habits or dissecting Bella’s own musings on boundaries.

Today’s Team Conrad from The Summer I Turned Pretty would have been on the front lines of Team Edward. But whether one has expressed adoration or hatred for the series, they’ve contributed in some way to this cultural juggernaut. The past two decades have seen Twilight become inescapable. Bella and Edward can’t die and their romance is sure to be just as enduring; in winning over a new generation, they’ve found the ultimate immortality.

To misquote Christina Perri’s soundtrack staple, we’ve loved Twilight for (what feels like) a thousand years. We’ll love it for a thousand more. Happy anniversary, Bella. You don’t look a day over 18.

Eleanor Jacobs is PAPER's 2025 Fall Intern

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