Final Breaking Dawn – Part 2 trailer is out: Visually arresting, though final entry’s dramatic appeal remains a question mark
The final Breaking Dawn – Part 2 trailer has been released online. Please scroll down to check it out.
Two days ago, Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner introduced a 90-second trailer of the trailer (there is such a thing) at the MTV Video Music Awards. (That evening, Kristen Stewart was at the Toronto Film Festival plugging Walter Salles’ On the Road.)
So, what does Breaking Dawn – Part 2 promise?
Judging from the trailer – stark, snow-covered fields dotted with black-clad vampires – it looks like the second Breaking Dawn (cinematographer: Guillermo Navarro) could turn out to be the most visually striking of the five Twilight Saga movies – though, in all fairness, the originalTwilight (cinematographer: Elliot Davis) has the appropriate moody atmosphere the fantasy tale and its gloomy setting require.
Whether or not Breaking Dawn – Part 2 will also be the franchise’s most dramatically satisfying entry remains to be seen. Breaking Dawn – Part 1 was the weakest one by far – a dramatically flat effort that director Bill Condon; screenwriter Melissa Rosenberg; and producers Wyck Godfrey, Karen Rosenfelt, and Stephenie Meyer (also the author of the four novels) aimed solely at the Twilight Saga’s die-hard fans.
Immediately below is the Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2 trailer, which clearly follows the same approach as last year’s Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 trailer:
Making sense of the Breaking Dawn 2 trailer
Now, if you’ve just finished watching the Breaking Dawn – Part 2 trailer but couldn’t fathom what it was all about, here is a brief plot synopsis:
Newborn vampire Bella Swan-Cullen (Kristen Stewart) attempts to protect her family – including hybrid (part-human, part-vampire) baby daughter Renesmee (part Mackenzie Foy, part cgi*) – from the ruthless Volturi (Michael Sheen [more or less made up to look like Johnny Depp’s Mad Hatter in Alice in Wonderland], Dakota Fanning, Cameron Bright, etc.).
The problem: The Volturi believe that the harmless Renesmee is a baby vampire, which would make her not only a nuisance like most babies but also a deadly menace to both their secret (vampires do exist) and their livestock (humans).
In sum: Breaking Dawn – Part 2 is a tale about family values – “I’ll never let anyone hurt you,” Bella tells Renesmee – with crowd-pleasing touches of revenge, violence, and a tad of imprinting.
Now, those who have read Breaking Dawn (one novel split into two movies) will probably be wondering about the trailer’s final sequence, when the two groups – the Cullens and their allies; the Volturi and their allies – dash toward one another … Is that going be a group hug or something?
Really, for better or for worse, one notable thing about the novel Breaking Dawn is its anticlimactic – or rather, non-climactic – finale.
Breaking Dawn – Part 2 will be released in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., and several other countries on Nov. 16. In dozens of other territories (Brazil, France, Italy, Mexico, New Zealand, etc.), it will hit screens on Nov. 14–15.
* Kristen Stewart told The Tonight Show host Jay Leno that the she had the displeasure of working with “fake children” on the Breaking Dawn – Part 2 set (“I’m not criticizing any … It’s a process”), explaining that the various Renesmees (the child grows inhumanly fast) looked like “little Chucky dolls … Babies with wigs … Little sticky hands touching my face. Ugh.”
Maintaining the suspense
Following the Lionsgate/Summit Entertainment merger, the teaser trailer of The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2 – the box office jewel in Summit’s crown – had its debut on March 23, prior to the screening of Lionsgate’s The Hunger Games.
The studio attempted to add suspense to the proceedings by initially refraining from showing Kristen Stewart’s face; the red-eyed, newborn Bella is stronger than Superman, Iron Man, and The Incredible Hulk combined. For instance, Summit released the teaser trailer’s teaser (there is such a thing) showing various characters reacting to the new Bella without actually showing her new features, while one “first look” image showed Edward looking at … Bella’s hair.
Clips from the movie, however, in which one could see Bella and Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson) kissing, etc. found their way online before the teaser’s teaser itself came out.
When the official Breaking Dawn – Part 2 teaser came out in June, Bella’s face is seen, but Renesmee is kept hidden from view.
Breaking Dawn – Part 2 cast
In addition to the performers mentioned further up, Breaking Dawn – Part 2 features Elizabeth Reaser, Peter Facinelli, Jackson Rathbone, Nikki Reed, Kellan Lutz, Ashley Greene, and Billy Burke.
Also: Rami Malek, Mia Maestro, Christian Camargo, Daniel Cudmore, Jamie Campbell Bower, Charlie Bewley, MyAnna Buring, Maggie Grace, Angela Sarafyan, Omar Metwally, Christopher Heyerdahl, Julia Jones, Booboo Stewart, and Casey LaBow.
Bill Condon says there’s a Breaking Dawn ‘director’s cut’
Update: While plugging his upcoming Wikileaks movie The Fifth Estate at the 2013 Toronto Film Festival, Bill Condon spoke with Collider.com about his own version of the two Twilight Saga movies he directed – Breaking Dawn – Part 1 and Breaking Dawn – Part 2. In Condon’s “director’s cut,” the two movies based on Stephenie Meyer’s final Twilight Saga novel are rolled into one.
In the interview, Condon hopes that “one day [the director’s cut] might emerge,” adding that his version – created during postproduction – is an attempt at “just making [Breaking Dawn] into one seamless thing, making it feel more like the original novel.”
In reference to the Kristen Stewart and Rupert Sanders “cheating scandal” that exploded in late July, in August Summit’s head of worldwide marketing Nancy Kirkpatrick recently told EW.com: “While it is studio policy not to comment on the personal lives of actors, Summit is moving full steam ahead.”
Stewart andSanders photos were published in the U.S.-based gossip rag Us Magazine. Since then, Stewart (or her people) publicly apologized – via People.com – to Robert Pattinson, who, after years of “are they or aren’t they?” was finally (seemingly) confirmed as her off-screen boyfriend by way of the widely publicized apology. Sanders, the director of Stewart’s summer box office hit Snow White and the Huntsman, also used People.com to apologize to his wife, model Liberty Ross, who plays Stewart’s mother in the film.
Bear in mind that after Us Magazine, People jumped in while E! Online posted the following headline: “Watch Kristen Stewart & Rupert Sanders on the Red Carpet: Were There Signs of Cheating?”
Twilight Saga marathon
In other Twilight Saga news, some U.S.-based (and possibly Canada-based) Twilight Saga fans will be able to catch Breaking Dawn – Part 2 at 10 p.m. on Nov. 15 – a whole two hours before the film’s official domestic debut.
On that day, a number of theaters will be hosting Twilight Saga marathons that will culminate with the late-night screenings of Breaking Dawn – Part 2.
So, in case you want to refresh your memory – Who was Bella dating halfway through the third installment, Edward or Jacob? – you’ll have the chance to (re)watch Catherine Hardwicke’s Twilight, Chris Weitz’s New Moon, David Slade’s Eclipse, and Condon’s Breaking Dawn parts 1 and 2 (which were filmed simultaneously).
Of note, the most recent entry, last year’s Breaking Dawn – Part 1 grossed $705.1 million worldwide.
As for these sorts of movie marathons, they’re nothing new: This past July, some theaters screened Warner Bros.’ Batman Begins and The Dark Knight prior to the release of The Dark Knight Rises, the final installment in Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy.
One key difference: The Dark Knight Rises did open at midnight Friday – there were no pre-midnight screenings. Another key difference: Summit will present “exclusive interstitial content” between films. A third key difference: “a special event-only lanyard” given to Twi-ttendees.
Breaking Dawn – Part 2 posters
Below are Breaking Dawn – Part 2 posters featuring the other two lead characters. Since vampires are immortal, all three posters – Bella’s, Edward’s, Jacob’s – feature the tagline “Forever.”
Now, whether or not werewolves also live for all eternity, Jacob’s poster should read “For now,” considering how his affections quickly shift from Bella to another key character in Breaking Dawn – Part 2.
“Breaking Dawn – Part 2 Trailer” notes
Breaking Dawn – Part 2 trailer, and Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, and Taylor Lautner posters: Summit Entertainment | Lionsgate.
*last modified in May 2025.