The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn director Bill Condon reveals why extended versions of the two movies will likely never get a release. Condon (Chicago) took over the Twilight movie franchise for the final two installments, which grossed a combined total of more than $1.5 billion. The adaptation of Stephenie Meyer’s hugely successful series of YA fantasy novels concluded in 2012, but love for the franchise has remained, particularly thanks to additional works both released and in development. On top of that, some have wondered whether extended cuts of the two Breaking Dawn movies would ever be released.
In an interview with Collider, Condon opens up on the fact that extended releases of the Breaking Dawn movies exist, but admits that it is unlikely they will ever see the light of day. He discusses the fact that both movies would require some tweaks in order to get them up to a point where they would be releasable, not to mention the fact that a heavy cost would be involved in both. Check out Condon’s full comments on the matter below:
We do have a longer version of Part 1, [Part 2 is] tucked away. It would take a lot of money to create Renesmee at the level that we did before — that’s a joke. The actual combining them into one movie, I think, has never been of too much interest to the studio.
There is a cut of Part 2 that you could do that’s longer. It just needs money. It’s not that much [longer]. I think it’s like 10 minutes. That’s a big VFX movie, so anything you add…
What These Comments Mean For The Difficulties Of Producing Extended Versions
The Intense Visual Aesthetic Of The Movies Makes The Approach Challenging
As Condon’s comments reveal, there would be a lot of money involved in the process of producing the Breaking Dawn extended editions. While the production of any movie or project is not without its costs, it would seem like a lot of work and money just to slightly extend the run time of the films. Furthermore, the intense visual effects and action set pieces that make up a core part of Breaking Dawn – Part 2 mean that any extensions to the movie, whether it be the CGI Renesmee or the epic battle sequence, would need to be done to the same aesthetic standard.
Furthermore, there would be potential issues with trying to get cast members back for any necessary re-shoots, as they are considerably older now and would doubtless have scheduling conflicts. The use of CGI would need to be a prominent factor, and this would also increase the cost, which would then need interest from the studio. Director’s cuts of movies are not uncommon in the film industry, but they do not always have such a big gap from the release of the original theatrical movie, and in Breaking Dawn‘s case, this just may not be a viable option.
Our Take On The Chances Of A Breaking Dawn Extended Release
The Ship Seems Like It Has Sailed On The Idea
In addition to the challenges Condon talks about, there is also the fact that the Twilight franchise has not been as large of a pop culture phenomenon for some time now. Breaking Dawn – Part 2 was released more than a decade ago, and the latest Twilight novel, Midnight Sun, was released in 2020. Therefore, there seems little reason to spend time and money on developing extended versions when there may not be an audience for them. However, Meyer has two more Twilight novels planned, so there might be scope to extend and combine the Breaking Dawn movies in the future.
Source: Collider
