Twilight: 6 Characters Who Should Have Got More Screen Time (And 4 Who Were Overused)

The modern day vampire romance Twilight captivated audiences like few other franchises have been able, and fans loved everything about the books, movies, and spin-offs. The books and movies came out to major hype and excitement between 2008 to 2012, which was the peak of its success, but upon a more recent viewing of the films, it’s obvious that they could have done with a lot more work: namely the usage of some characters.

Edward and Bella were the protagonists around whom the plot revolved, so they are not included in this list, but there were several players, especially from the human and wolf side, who got almost no screen time despite having engrossing backstories and plots in the book. If these characters had more attention given to them, the Twilight movies may become even more rewatchable than they already are.

Rosalie Hale, More Screen Time

There are many unpopular opinions about Rosalie and Emmett on the internet, but one thing fans will unanimously agree to is that she was criminally underused in the movie. Besides a very short sequence about how she took revenge on her assaulters as a vampire, her other traits were sorely neglected.

Rosalie was special because she seamlessly adapted to the Cullen diet, tried to seduce Edward, and had a special story about how she saw Emmett and told Carlisle to turn him as he lay dying from a bear attack. She was a lot more than a hissy, angry character as shown in the movies, and there was plenty to explore with Rosalie.

Leah Clearwater, More Screen Time

What movie fans don’t realize is how much of an anomaly Leah was, and that’s because her history was skimmed over unfairly. The Quileute wolves were male as a rule, but the growing number of vampires and personal tragedy made Leah turn into a wolf, which made her the only female wolf to exist.

Her romance with Sam was interrupted because of wolf imprinting, her life was changed forever because of the gene, and she also lost Harry in a very short period of time. The challenges she faced and the rarity of a female wolf along with her lineage deserved to be delved into.

Jacob Black, Overused

As well as the speaker of some of the cringiest lines of Twilight, Jacob took up too much space. The wolves were a large pack with diverse stories and a lot of Quileute history to be explored, and somehow only Jacob got all the spotlight, and he wasn’t even a native actor.

The indigenous lives and legends could have been brought to the surface with other wolves like Leah, Seth, Sam, and Paul, but instead Jacob got too much screen-time, which he spent trying to convince Bella that she loved him, or bursting into wolf form when he got angry.

Angela Weber, More Screen Time

It’s no secret that the humans of Forks got very little screen time in the movies, but Angela was slightly more special than the rest of Bella’s vapid friends. She was extraordinarily kind, as Edward found by reading her thoughts, and a good friend to Bella.

Her love story with Ben was glossed over and she was paired with Eric instead, which was a big plotline to skip since Edward and Emmett had orchestrated the romance between her and Ben in the books. It would have been lovely to see Edward interact with humans positively and try to blend with Bella’s friends and Angela would have been the perfect vehicle for this.

Victoria, Overused

A lethal villain who was quick and stealthy, Victoria was way overused in the movies. Her portrayal in the first movie showed no devotion towards James, so it was a bit too much to see her suddenly become passionate for revenge in Eclipse.

With little to no dialogue, and just many, many scenes of lurking, glaring, and running around in a blur, it was tiring to watch Victoria and then hear about how dangerous she was from the Cullens. So much of these precious minutes could have been given to somebody else in the franchise.

Esme Cullen, More Screen Time

The tragedy of the movies was that almost every vampire got a backstory except for Esme. Even vampires like Benjamin, Zafrina, and Vladimir got more recap than the matriarch of the Cullen family ever did. Only book fans would know this about Esme, but she was married before Carlisle, pregnant, escaped abuse, and also met him when she was much younger.

She had so many wonderful maternal traits and interests, like being an architect, which weren’t ever depicted in the movies and fans would have enjoyed seeing these things.

Carlisle Cullen, Overused

It was quite unfair that the patriarch of the Cullens got as much screen real estate when Esme got less than a fraction of it. Carlisle was a good guy, but his presence only consisted of him being a good doctor, holding back vampires from going feral, or speaking about his past, which could have been minimized.

Other vampires could have done with some of his on-screen time, and his genteel and caring vampire plot could be done away with after a point.

Renee Dwyer, More Screen Time

Bella’s mother hardly appeared in the movies, but she was integral to the plot because of how her behavior shaped Bella’s personality. Renee was childlike, not the best with responsibilities and had a free-flowing spirit, which made Bella responsible, serious, and more mature.

Showing the origins of Bella and her mother would be very insightful for fans to see, as would her separation from Charlie and some of her life in Phoenix with Phil.

The Volturi, More Screen Time

Every series needs a big villain, and The Volturi filled that position well, but individually Aro, Marcus, and Caius were very different from each other. They weren’t necessarily evil, and all of them had fantastic backstories which would have titillated Twihards.

Even Jane and Alec’s lethal powers, how they came to be, and what prompted Marcus to desire death in the imaginary battle scenes of Breaking Dawn were exciting to watch. The movies only showed them as a dictator-like regulatory body, but each character had plenty of depth.

Alice Cullen, Overused

Edward’s favorite sister was definitely one of the most likable characters, but her presence on screen was static and showed little growth. The only times that she was useful was when she had visions about Bella or the next enemy attacking her or Renesmee, but her other scenes chattering about dressing Bella and being besties were hollow.

The writers should have shown some actual bonding between her and Bella, instead of just stating that they were close. Her perkiness and constant interference in matters between Edward and Bella was irritating, which made her absence in Breaking Dawn Part II quite a nice break.