Twilight Characters: Every Main Human, Vampire, Werewolf and Volturi Member

The main Twilight characters fall into four groups: the humans of Forks, Washington, the Cullen vampires, the Quileute werewolves and the Volturi, and each of the five films moves between them. The saga begins with Twilight (2008), directed by Catherine Hardwicke, and ends with The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2 (2012), directed by Bill Condon. Several character arcs run into later films, so anyone still working through the Twilight movies in order should expect spoilers ahead.

The human characters are few, and the story rests mostly on two of them. Bella Swan, played by Kristen Stewart, is the seventeen year old who leaves sunny Phoenix, Arizona, for the rainy town of Forks, and she leads all five films. Her father, Charlie Swan (Billy Burke), is the local police chief, and in Breaking Dawn Part 2 he starts to notice that something is strange about the family. Bella's mother appears as Renée (Sarah Clarke) in The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1, and Anna Kendrick plays her schoolmate Jessica in Twilight (2008).

The Cullens are the best known vampires in the saga, a group of unusually pale adopted siblings led by their adoptive parents, Carlisle and Esme. Edward Cullen, played by Robert Pattinson, first keeps his distance from Bella and then saves her from a sliding van in the school parking lot. Carlisle Cullen is credited as Dr. Carlisle Cullen and played by Peter Facinelli, while Esme Cullen is played by Elizabeth Reaser. The Cullen household has its own dedicated Cullen family page, which traces how the siblings fit together.

The rest of the household is a mix of personalities that the films return to again and again. Alice Cullen (Ashley Greene) sees visions of the future, and in The Twilight Saga: Eclipse they warn the Cullens that an army of newborn vampires is moving toward Forks. Jasper Hale (Jackson Rathbone) is overcome by the scent of Bella's blood in The Twilight Saga: New Moon, and in Eclipse he teaches the group how newborns fight, drawing on his own past. Rosalie Hale (Nikki Reed) guards Bella through her pregnancy in Breaking Dawn Part 1. Emmett Cullen (Kellan Lutz) completes the siblings.

The youngest Cullen arrives late in the saga. Renesmee is Bella and Edward's daughter, born in Part 1 and played by Mackenzie Foy in Part 2, where the filmmakers used CGI with face mapping on Foy for the newborn scenes (reported by Bustle). Bella herself becomes a vampire at the end of Part 1, so she sits on both the human and vampire lists depending on the film.

The werewolves are members of the Quileute tribe, and their natural enemies are vampires. Jacob Black, played by Taylor Lautner, is Bella's friend and motorbike repair partner in New Moon, and the third point of the triangle in Eclipse. Gil Birmingham plays Billy Black, and Graham Greene plays Harry Clearwater in New Moon. In Part 1, Jacob breaks with the pack's leader and leaves with Seth and Leah to protect Bella, and his lifelong bond with Renesmee then drives the final act of Part 2.

The Volturi are a powerful group of vampires tied to Volterra, Italy. Aro, played by Michael Sheen, is the leader who decides in New Moon that Bella must be turned or killed because she knows the vampire secret. Dakota Fanning plays Jane, who has the newborn Bree Tanner killed in Eclipse, and Jamie Campbell Bower plays Caius in Part 2. The Volturi are the reason Edward travels to Volterra in New Moon, and they are the opposing force when the Cullens gather witnesses in the finale.

The vampires outside the Cullen family supply most of the danger. Victoria is played by Rachelle Lefevre in Twilight (2008) and New Moon and by Bryce Dallas Howard in Eclipse, and she hunts Bella after the death of her mate. That mate is James (Cam Gigandet), a nomad who travels with Victoria and Laurent (Edi Gathegi) and becomes fixated on Bella in the first film. In Eclipse, Victoria raises a newborn army through Riley, and in Part 2, Irina (Maggie Grace) misreads Renesmee and reports her to the Volturi.

The films show a handful of named abilities rather than a full roster. Alice has visions of the future, accurate enough to warn the Cullens about Victoria's army, though in New Moon one misread vision sends Edward to Italy. Bella develops a mental shield in Part 2 that she can stretch to protect other people from vampire powers. Edward can hear the baby's thoughts late in Part 1, which is what changes his mind about the pregnancy. The Quileute wolves change shape, and Jasper's knowledge of how newborn vampires fight is a skill rather than a gift, but it decides the battle in Eclipse.

In my opinion, the best way to read this ensemble is by asking who is allowed to change and who is not. Edward is the least flexible: in New Moon he decides alone that leaving Bella is the safe choice, and he repeats the pattern when Alice's wrong vision convinces him she is dead, so that he travels to Volterra to ask the Volturi to end his life. Both mistakes come from acting on half the information, and Part 1 is where he finally listens, once he can hear the baby's thoughts.

Jacob is the opposite case. He begins in Twilight (2008) as a minor friend, grows into Bella's repair partner and rescuer in New Moon, and by Part 1 he is willing to break with his own pack's leader for her sake. That is a bigger distance than any Cullen travels, and it is why Part 2 can pay off his bond with Renesmee without it feeling bolted on.

Bella is the most interesting comparison across films. She is passive and numb in the months after the Cullens leave in New Moon, impulsive when she jumps off a cliff for the thrill of it, and in Part 2 she is the one who trains her shield to protect others. Perhaps the saga is quietly about her moving from being protected to doing the protecting. Even Jasper follows this arc: the near attack on her birthday in New Moon is answered by his battle lessons in Eclipse.

The villains work the same way. Victoria is the only recurring antagonist across Twilight (2008), New Moon and Eclipse, and the recasting from Rachelle Lefevre to Bryce Dallas Howard is the clearest example of an ensemble role changing hands mid saga. The Volturi, by contrast, stay a threat from a distance until the finale, where Alice's vision lets the Cullens win without a fight. That being said, Part 2 is the only film in which the fight is shown as a vision, so the resolution lands differently from the earlier battle in Eclipse.

The characters have no announced theatrical return, but the animated series Twilight: Midnight Sun is in development at Netflix, with no release date and no cast announced (reported by Deseret News). Nothing has been dated for a new Twilight movie, and the latest on that is covered at the new Twilight movie page. Actors and their billing for each film are set out in the Twilight cast guide. If you are new to the saga, start with Twilight (2008) and read the Twilight timeline afterward to see how the characters fit together.