Here we go talking about Twilight again. If for no other reason than it wont just die, well accept it as a blight on the vampire genre. Former Twilight star Robert Pattinsonthe Batman who keeps us waiting, and also the lead(s) in Bong Joon Hos upcoming Mickey 17recently reminisced with GQ Spain about the frenzy that surrounded the franchise, and how its shaped him in his post-Edward Cullenera. I think its a fascinating phenomenon. I cant believe it. I think its resurgence is due to [interest] like in Korea [similarly] to K-pop, he said, comparing the Twilight fandom to K-drama and K-pop fandom, but then seduced Western teens. I like to believe [Twilights] cultural relevance is because theyre very old [movies]. He laughed as he realized the first one was released in 2008, fuck! And his response to those of us who roll our eyes? I love that people keep telling me, Man, Twilight ruined the vampire genre, are you still stuck on that shit? How can you be sad about something that happened almost 20 years ago? Its crazy. Okay, fine. Over the years hes had a contentious relationship with the films. Twilight is about this guy who finds the one girl he wants to be with, and also wants to eat her. Well not eat her, drink her blood, whatever, he said in a 2019 Variety interview. I thought there were definitely bits that were very romantic. But to me, I thought it was a pretty weird story. and even when I was promoting it, I was pretty open about how strange I thought it was when I was doing it.Thats a nice way to be vague about parallels to abusive and gaslighting relationships which abound in Twilight series author Stephenie Meyers work. Main character Bella leans trad wife much like the authors Mormon background encourages and it doesnt help the writer instructed filmmakers to not cast diversely for the Cullens. So theres that sense of normalization and of course the handling of Native Americans that many overlook the widespread harm it does to women and the marginalized, because its cool to give Twilight a pass now. So we agree with Pattinson on the overall weirdness of the franchises story. Thankfully, hes broken away from a mere heartthrob lead, playing more little freaks in art house films and bringing some of that into the bigger films hes been in since like The Batman and, if the trailers are any indication, Mickey 17. He also told GQ Spain how he felt about returning to more mainstream films after working on projects like Robert Eggers The Lighthouse:With Batman it was a different sensation. There was so much anticipation, the stress was palpable.In the case of Mickey 17, its a collaboration he feels more at ease with. Bong Joon Ho is probably one of five directors in the world who can right now, direct a film of such an enormous caliber and turn it into something idiosyncratic, unique and interesting, he said. He continued, describing how Mickey 17 stood out to him as a dystopian film to tackle now; over the years, hes apparently been offered roles in multiple concepts that explored civilization on the brink. Honestly, I dont think the world has changed too much. Its good that humanity leans toward collective thought, he said. Its rare to work in an industry thats founded on storytelling, because you can see how people think of themselves and about culture. Out of nowhere the post-apocalyptic was the conversation. I think weve passed that era but not because we now live in a dystopia and need to talk about other things to distract ourselves. Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, whats next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.