By now, you’ve had a little over a week to dive into Stephenie Meyer’s Midnight Sun, the long-awaited companion novel to 2005’s Twilight. And if you’re like us, then you’re already foaming at the mouth for a feature film starring everyone’s favorite sparkling vampires.
The Twilight franchise is also known for its stellar soundtracks, which, after the first film, featured all-original songs recorded just for the movies. Like the Twilight soundtrack, it stands to reason that a Midnight Sun soundtrack could feature a combination of existing and original songs, so we’ve imagined what that could look like.
Also, while series stars Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart have been outspoken about their distaste for the films over the years, we will remind you that Pattinson seems to have changed his mind recently. “It’s lovely now that the mania is not so intense,” he said in 2019. “People come up (to me) and just have very fond memories of it. It’s a really sweet thing. I think the only scary part was right in the thick of it all, when it was very, very intense. Now the intensity has died down and it’s just very warm memories.”
C’mon, R-Patz, let’s create some more of those warm memories. All you have to do is appear in the Midnight Sun movie. We will pay big bucks to see it.
In the meantime, we’ve lovingly hand-picked a potential soundtrack; check it out below.
Song: Grimes, “Kill V. Maim”
Scene: Edward gets his first whiff of Bella Swan in Biology class, and his world is about to be forever changed. First, however, he has to keep himself from killing her (and the class of witnesses). It is an extremely close call.
Lyric: “But I’m only a man/ And I do what I can.”
Why it fits: Grimes has described this track as “something I would want to play during an action sequence in a movie.” Though the action here is all in Edward’s head, “Kill V. Maim” would be the perfectly aggressive accompaniment to that first life-or-death moment.
Song: Fleet Foxes, “Fool’s Errand”
Scene: Consumed by thoughts of Bella — who he has managed not to kill so far — Edward runs away to Alaska for almost a week. He tries to decide whether to leave Forks permanently, which would be a coward move, or to go home and face the music.
Lyric: “But I can make it through/ I was thin and I saw all life in you/ Fool’s errand.”
Why it fits: As indie folk guru Robin Pecknold sings on the chorus, Edward can’t accomplish anything by sitting around and “waiting for a sign.” Let’s see if he can man up and do the right thing on his own.
Song: Halsey, “Graveyard”
Scene: Just as Tyler’s van goes skidding toward Bella, Edward makes the snap decision to save her life — putting his family at risk of being exposed.
Lyric: “Oh, ’cause I keep diggin’ myself down deeper/ I won’t stop ’til I get where you are/ I keep running, I keep running, I keep running.”
Why It Fits: Edward knows that by using his superhuman strength to get to Bella, people might suspect something is off with his family and they will have to leave Forks. But he also can’t just let her die. Celeb Twihard Halsey has just the song to go with the scene.
Song: Lana Del Rey, “Heroin”
Scene: While hunting, Edward keeps obsessing over Bella, wondering why she turned down all the human boys who asked her to the upcoming dance. Feeling protective, he goes to her house for the first time, and hears her say his name in her sleep.
Lyric: “I want to leave, I’ll probably stay another year/ It’s hard to leave when absolutely nothing’s clear.”
Why it fits: While this song could also fit with the famous “I’m your brand of heroin” line later on, this is the scene where Edward realizes he loves Bella, and thus requires Lana’s operatic, depressive stylings. Like the heroin LDR sings about here, Edward will eventually take Bella’s life away (though not in the traditional sense).
Song: Carter Burwell, “Bella’s Lullaby”
Scene: In this version, we see Edward composing his song for Bella with his adoptive vampire mother Esme by his side at the piano.
Lyric: N/A
Why It Fits: You can’t have a Midnight Sun movie without one of Twilight’s famous themes.
Song: Taylor Swift, “Invisible String”
Scene: After Edward saves Bella’s life again, they pair enjoy an emotional, electrically-charged dinner together in Port Angeles.
Lyric: “Time, mystical time, cutting me open then healing me fine. Were there clues I didn’t see? And isn’t it just so pretty to think all along there was some invisible string, tying you to me?”
Why It Fits: Edward lived nearly 100 years without meeting his soulmate — and even before he fell in love with Bella, he felt a strange pull toward her. Maybe it was the vampiric blood lust. Or maybe it was an invisible string.
Song: Billie Eilish, “My Strange Addiction”
Scene: The morning after the Port Angeles date, Edward and Bella encounter Jessica at school, who is dying for all the gossip on how Bella feels about the elusive boy who never used to give girls the time of day.
Lyric: “Bad, bad news/ One of us is gonna lose/ I’m the powder, you’re the fuse.”
Why It Fits: By reading Jessica’s mind, Edward finds out that she’s going to ask Bella about their relationship. A conflict rages in his mind — he wants Bella’s love, but he’s afraid he will kill her.
Song: Linkin Park, “With You”
Scene: Edward, in his quest for more knowledge about Bella, quizzes her about what’s in her CD player at the moment. She admits it’s Linkin Park’s Hybrid Theory, a gift from her stepfather.
Lyric: “It’s true the way I feel was promised by your face/ The sound of your voice, painted on my memories, even if you’re not with me.”
Why It Fits: Edward’s point of view allows for more bonus details readers didn’t get with Twilight — including that Bella listens to Linkin Park and that “With You” is her favorite song. A nice detail for fans, and the song itself fits the melancholic love story unfolding.
Song: Passion Pit, “Take A Walk”
Scene: Alice and Edward hunt together, in preparation for the next day, when Bella and Edward will reach a turning point in their relationship.
Lyric: “I’m down on both bad knees/ I’m just too much a coward to admit when I’m in need.”
Why It Fits: Neither Alice — who can see the future — nor Edward know the outcome of his outing with Bella. He’ll either kill her or he won’t. And the peppy “Take a Walk,” whose upbeat sound opposes its depressing lyrics, is fitting.
Song: “God Rest Ye Merry, Gentleman” (Recorded by Carter Burwell, of course.)
Scene: It’s Christmas 1919 — the second Edward experienced as an immortal. Carlisle decorates a tree for the two of them to celebrate the holiday, and you know he probably has the phonograph on in the background.
Lyric: “Oh tidings of comfort and joy.”
Why It Fits: Since Carlisle hailed from England, expect him to choose a traditional English carol to bring a measure of “comfort and joy” to Edward. And while the first known written version of the song came 100 years after Carlisle’s birth, we’re sure his appreciation for the arts kept him more than up to date on new music. Plus, the minor key adds a necessarily somber note to the vampires’ Christmas — they are dead, after all.
Song: Girl In Red, “Midnight Love”
Scene: While together in Edward’s secret meadow, Bella sees him sparkle in the sun for the first time!
Lyric: “In this light, I swear I’m blind/ In this light, I swear you’re mine.”
Why it fits: Edward thinks Bella will be shocked and revolted at what he looks like in the sun, but she accepts this form of his completely. He no longer has to rely on the guise of shadows around her — she loves him in every light, which is exactly what Girl in Red is wishing for on this sweet, but nonetheless heartbreaking, song.
Song: Phoebe Bridgers, “Motion Sickness”
Scene: Edward straps Bella onto his back so he can show her what it’s like to travel at his speed, and they sprint through the forest. Bella tries not to throw up.
Lyric: “I have emotional motion sickness/ I try to stay clean and live without/ And I want to know what would happen/ If I surrender to the sound.”
Why it fits: Here, Bridgers is singing about an older man who showered her with passion before he eventually broke her heart and left her behind. (Sound familiar?) While this scene takes place towards the start of Edward and Bella’s romantic relationship, we know said relationship is not going to be smooth sailing.
Song: Muse, “Supermassive Black Hole”
Scene: Vampires playing baseball! Vampires playing baseball!
Lyric: “You set my soul alight.”
Why It Fits: There really is no other choice. “Supermassive Black Hole” is a major music moment in the Twilight film, and who wouldn’t want to revisit a newly-mastered 2020 version for Midnight Sun?
Song: Frank Ocean, “Swim Good”
Scene: Carlisle, Emmett and Edward chase James all over (and through) Canada, trying to nail him before the tracker can find out where Bella is and kill her.
Lyric: “I’ve had this black suit on/ Roaming around like I’m ready for a funeral/ One more mile ’til the road runs out.”
Why it fits: This song is maybe a little on-the-nose, as Edward and his family members jump in and out of lakes and rivers in pursuit of James, but it’s appropriately dark. They’re running out of time.
Song: Sleigh Bells, “Comeback Kid”
Scene: Probably the most thrilling chapter in Midnight Sun, and certainly what would be the movie’s biggest action scene, this is when Edward, Alice, Carlisle Jasper and Emmett speed from the Phoenix airport to save Bella before James can end her life.
Lyric: “I know it’s hard but/ You’ve gotta deal with it/ Why don’t you look around/ Show me what you’re made of.”
Why it fits: The squealing guitars and pounding drumline, juxtaposed with Alexis Krauss’s high vocals, will go nicely with the chaos (see: that 27-car pileup, Alice’s rapid-fire visions) that the Cullens cause on their way to the ballet studio.
Song: Declan McKenna, “Beautiful Faces”
Scene: While driving (a miraculously alive) Bella to the hospital, Alice has a vision of how she’ll set up their cover story of Bella falling down the stairs. Among many complicated steps, the most exciting one is Alice curling up like a bowling ball and launching herself through the second-story window of a hotel.
Lyric: “The beautiful faces smiling over us/ Lift your hands up and lead us back home.”
Why it fits: After this scene, the Cullens are cemented as the most “beautiful faces” in Bella’s life, both physically and as her adopted family of personal protectors. This track is also energetic and theatrical — just like Alice, the star of this chapter.
Song: Iron & Wine, “Flightless Bird, American Mouth”
Scene: Edward, who is desperate to ensure Bella has as many “human” experiences as possible, takes her to prom at Forks High.
Lyric: “Have I found you? Flightless bird, jealous, weeping. Or lost you?”
Why It Fits: Well, duh. But the song complements Edward’s point of view, too. He loves Bella, yet doesn’t want to turn her into a vampire — which leaves them at an interesting crossroads.
