Just when you thought your eardrums might recover from hearing the screams of Twilight fans around the world when the first film was announced, it's time to put the earmuffs back on, because Summit Entertainment has optioned the other three books in the series (to date) and hired a writer to adapt New Moon and Eclipse, the next two.
The series is the story of Bella, an ordinary teen in love with a vampire, Edward, in a rainy northern US town. In New Moon, Edward tries to leave Bella for her own protection, causing her to take up extreme sports to feel closer to him, and form a friendship with a Native American boy who turns out to have his own supernatural secret. Eclipse sees the couple face an army of hostile vampires under the control of a former enemy, while still trying to chart their own course through the tricksy waters of undead love. The fourth book, Breaking Dawn, involves things too spoilerific to talk about, and has not yet got a writer attached.
Melissa Rosenberg is the screenwriter attached to the films - which is no surprise, since she also adapted Twilight. And, er, Step Up, because really dating a vampire is just another step in every teen's struggle towards self-empowerment and Being Yourself. At least adapting these new books will mean that she finally gets to read them: Rosenberg makes it a point of principle not to read sequels before adapting early books so that she doesn't get ahead of her characters.
There's no word yet on whether the cast will return, but we're guessing that the film company will be under considerable pressure (especially their eardrums, given the volume of screaming generally associated with this project) to get Pattinson et al back. See what all the fuss is about yourself on December 19, when Twilight opens in the UK, or check out our exclusive Twlight photo shoot and video here.