News of a potential Twilight Saga reboot broke last April, and in our current reboot and spinoff-obsessed era, it’s no surprise Hollywood is looking to bring the series back from the dead (pun intended). Unsurprisingly, the news was met with mixed reception –some fans arguing it’s too soon to bring back the franchise (the 5th and final movie in the series premiered in 2012) and others claiming this could be a redemption opportunity for the saga. If the creators lean into the latter, and hopefully they will, one way to do this would be to recreate the character of Jessica Stanley (played by Anna Kendrick in the film adaptations) and the portrayal of her and Bella Swan’s (Kristen Stewart) friendship. Jessica is a character who is underutilized in both the books and the movies, neither of which provides her with any depth or nuance. She seemingly exists as a foil to Bella – to represent the life she could have had in Forks had she not gotten tangled up with the Cullen family and the supernatural world. But with the reboot, there is an opportunity to bring her into the heart of the story and provide a much-needed focus on female friendships.
The original Twilight movies robbed us of the Jessica Stanley we all deserved and this is how the reboot series could right that wrong.