‘Life And Death: Twilight Reimagined’ Swaps Bella And Edward’s Genders

Author Stephanie Meyer swapped Bella and Edward’s genders for Life and Death: Twilight Reimagined, a special edition for the original book’s 10th anniversary.

‘Life And Death: Twilight Reimagined’

In the new version of the Twilight saga, Edward becomes a female vampire named Edith, while Bella becomes a human boy named Beau.

“I wanted to do something fun for the 10th anniversary,” Meyer said on Good Morning America, explaining that she had long been frustrated with the perception that Bella was a weak character.

“A question that had come up at a lot of signings and other things was about Bella being a damsel in distress,” Meyer said. “And it’s always bothered me a little bit, because anyone surrounded by superheroes is going to be in a bit of distress. And so I thought if I switched it around a little bit to see how a boy does, and you know, it’s about the same.”

“The further you get in the more it changes because the personalities get different,” Meyer added. “It’s just a love story, it doesn’t matter who’s the boy and who’s the girl. It’s really very much the same thing. My hope is that maybe the younger readers may be introduced.”

Meyers’ sentiments echo those of Kristen Stewart, who played Bella opposite Robert Pattinson‘s Edward in the features films. “It’s just lovely to see someone give something up. It’s why I wanted to do Twilight,” Stewart said during her America Ultra promo tour, defending her character Bella. “That’s why I thought it was so silly when people would be like, ‘So how do you feel about playing such a weak character that’s so subject to the male counterpart?’ And I’m like, ‘She’s practicing free will.’ I think it’s so courageous and cool.”

Meyers’ 10th anniversary edition of Twilight, which contains Life and Death, is currently available online and in bookstores.