Ben Barnes was nearly Edward Cullen in Twilight Saga

August 16, 2009 Paul Martin Miscellaneous Fantasy, Prince Caspian Cast News, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader Cast News 42

I’ve just learned that Ben Barnes was on a short list of four people to play the role of Edward Cullen in the Twilight Saga. I’m pretty sure that it came down to scheduling conflicts with the Narnia series, as the reason he didn’t. However, when it comes to casting for the films, it seems that he studio is all about the cash the films bring in, and will recast if there is any clash in schedules, as Bryce Dallas Howard is replacing someone in the third film (shooting prior to the release of the second).

The four actors up for the role were revealed at the TwiTour, by way of Twilight Lexicon:

Catherine Hardwicke said that the 4 finalists (who she called bachelor 1, 2, 3, 4) for the part of Edward Cullen were [Robert Pattinson], Jackson Rathbone, Ben Barnes, and Shiloh Fernandez. She said to watch for Shiloh because she predicts that he’s going places.

I’m no fan of Twilight. Never seen it, nor read it. I have heard some mixed things about it, and I’ve heard that if you summarize what happens to the girl in the story, it really sounds like she’s not only stalked, but being watched by a definition creeper, and loses most of her friends over it, and even after she’s married to one of them, she has feelings for another. Seriously? In my world, when you’re married, you don’t harbor those types of feelings, or entertain thoughts of it. Needless to say, I don’t understand the fascination with wanting someone watch you sleep all night (based on a line in the movie trailer). Can anyone defend it? Are my friends, who have read it, off base in their summaries?

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42 Comments

  1. … That… would’ve been…. AWESOME!!!!!!! Then I [i]really[/i] would’ve had a crush on Edward Cullen lol! xD

    • You are totally right, If they had casted ben Barnes For Edward then I might watch twilight.

      As hes not TWILIGHT SUCKS!

      But Ben is still hot, with is lovely long brown hair and sparkly eyes.

      Saying he wouldn’t look good is an understatment. You just have to picture it differently. In sted of a creepy pale guy you get a hot taned guy!
      You know what I’m Saying!
      GOOD

      • OH….
        And happy Birhtday Ben!
        Have a good one.

        One more thing, DON’T DISAPOINT ME IN THE VOYAGE OF THE DAWN TREADER!
        At william wont be there to spay orange juice all over you costume on the first day!
        HAVE FUN

  2. OH NO!!!!! That would have been HORRIBLE. I would have HATED Ben Barnes had he been in Twilight. I would have completely hated him……. How could I ever have done that to Ben Barnes?????

  4. Agreeing with Paul on this. Twilight is not only demonic, but it also is creepy. (What girl would really be in love with a pale, weird looking vampire? SEriously folks). I am SO glad Ben wasn’t cast in the role, because I don’t know if I could’ve seen Prince Caspian. It’s bad enough that Ben is in Dorian Gray (a film that looks demonic itself), but Twilight…that’s the LAST straw. Thank goodness for filming schedule conflicts!

      • ha ha so true… I’d like to see if there’s a fansite passionately debating and discussing the twilight books in 50 years’ time, like we are 50 years after Narnia was published!

    • I totally agree with you. It would ruin the Narnia movies if Ben played Edward. I also agree with your statement on how people could love a creepy pale looking thing. It’s so dumb. And I just went to a movie and the preview for that second movie came on and there were this row of moronic girls behind me and they were screaming at every little thing. I wanted to turn around and say “o my gosh, just GET A LIFE”
      i should have..

  6. in a interview Ben said that he was too old to being Edward who is 17,so i dont think it was a schedule conflict.Stephenie Meyer’s favorite actor to be Edward was Henry Cavil.

  7. Don’t bag dorian gray! It’s a brilliant story and going to be a fantastic movie. I’m kinda glad ben didn’t get the part of edward cullen. I’m so over the whole twilight saga. Though he might have bought some credibility to the role.

  8. I like Twilight, but I’m not some huge fan of it or anything. But it helps to understand it if you actually read the books, and I think it helps if you are a girl as well. But I don’t know if I could picture Ben in the role of Edward Cullen, I like his dark brown hair and dark brown eyes. I don’t know what he would look like if he had copperish hair and golden eyes.

  9. Their opinions regarding Twilight are not too far off in my opinion. I’ve read all four books and seen the movie. But, there are more reasons to dislike Twilight other than poor story lines. Some of the writing–in my opinion–was pure cheese. Yes, I know, I read them all, because Meyer does have a style that hooks the reader to want to know what is going to happen. However, I could have done without the over-dramatic romance, and I sort of wish they had all been dismembered by the Volturi in the end. If you want a good vampire tale, read Anne Rice.

    • I agree so much with you. The writing can be painful- it feels like the author reminds us of how amazingly gorgeous Edward Cullen is every single page! By the end, i wished they had gone all Romeo and Juliet and both died.
      But obviously, they’ve found a huge audience and are incredibly popular for a reason. A (far too) perfect guy in love with an ordinary girl? It plays on a lot of teenage girl fantasies (i know, i am one).
      But the writing is dreadful. And four whole books of it, each about 800 pages long? That’s three and a half books too many.
      I am so glad Ben wasn’t cast, even though i think he looks more like the role than Robert Pattinson. I actually got shivers when i read this, and NOT in a good way. Ben Barnes as Edward Cullen, that sentence is so wrong! ARGH! I love Ben and hate twilight!

      • Your right, Ben would have had Kristen begging at his feet!

        Poor Robert Pattison (A.K.A. Creepy pale freek)

  10. I read the Twilight series last year and enjoyed them. Then the movie came out (and a boatload of creepy, obsessive teenage girls became addicted to it) and I now dislike it very much. I’m incredibly glad Ben didn’t get the part because I would not like him anymore if he was Edward. I liked Robert Pattinson when he was in Harry Potter and now I think he’s incredibly annoying. Ben is great for Narnia, but Twilight would have ruined him.

  11. I hope Ben (Caspian) will be reunited with Anna (Susan)in the Narnian chronicles….I like them to be together.

  12. Oh my gosh. I am so glad that Ben didn’t play…*shudders*…EDWARD.
    I HATE twilight, so if Ben played in that movie, I would hate Ben and than the Narnia movies would be ruined for me. I may be over-reacting, but i have a strong hate against twilight. Man, i’m so glad. 😛

    • Your right Twilight sucks, but with Ben Barnes (Prince Caspian) it might have at least watched it. Twilight might have done better. but then all of my friends that like Edward would like Ben and then I wouldn’t. William’s(Peter)O-kay to though. Younger, dirty Blonde hair, funny!

      Bens 28 as of August 20/2009
      Williams 22 as of April 27/2009

      But wills in that new movie with Megan Fox, Ironclad, I wonder what that will be like…

  13. Yeesh. Ben has enough girlfans as Caspian-with-an-unbookish-romance without having also been the object of everyone’s vampire fantasies. :p

    I’m not keen on Twilight, but I can pardon him for Dorian. However much junk that story’s got in it, the core is classic.

  14. I am soo glad he did not get the part!!! IHATE TWILIGHT but dont be bashing Dorian Gray it is a much better story than Twilight!!! Love Ben not Twilight!

  15. I’m on the same boat (no pun intended), I’m glad Ben wasn’t in Twilight, the movie was just okay…and now with these fangirls obsessing over every little thing Twilight…well…it’s just gotten on my nerves!!! And Ben in Dorian Gray….looks amazing…something different for Ben…and I’m sure he’ll do fantastic in the role. GO NARNIA!!

  16. Ahh… Twlight, you either love it, or want to stick it in a blender. Persoanlly i’m just digging out my food processor.

  17. Wow, Twilight haters are just as intense as the Twilight obsessed. Take it for what it is people, a series of books written for “young adult” aka teenage girls. At the heart of the series is what every female at some point in her life dreamt about. Finding pure, true & eternal love. Cheesy? Well hell yes! As an adult the series can be appreciated solely based on the fact that we all remember our very 1st puppy love. And whether it occurred when you were 13, 16 or 30 you remember well when it didn’t work out and you were crushed. Life goes on, we all grow up & become the cynical people we are, but sometimes it’s nice to remember what it was like to be so naïve & singleminded.

    • I’m not saying it’s pure demonic junk–personally, I don’t hold its having vapires and werwolves as a point against it. I’m just so tired of watching girls drool over Edward, and am glad Ben didn’t get hit with that on top of his Caspian role. Also, even for a melodramatic story about “true love,” Bella’s level of obsession was a bit much. 😉

  19. Does anyone else think Twilight mainly became popular because of marketing and a large target audience? Because seriously, that is some of the worst prose I have read in my life.

    Also, I am glad Ben wasn’t Edward. For the only reason that I actually think he will become a more credible actor in the coming years and a type-cast like that is hard to shrug off. Also, he has an acting style which is ultimately very believable, something which Twilight doesn’t really cater for (as every single person is over-dramatic and unbelievable in my opinion).

    Don’t want to offend anyone, but that’s what I think. xo

  20. Your kidding me right, ROBERT PATTISON is the ugliest Edward Cullen the could possibly be. Well there could be worst but he is still pretty low on the list!

  21. I’m a fan of Ben Barnes but people, we must accept the fact that he did not get the part of Edward bec. he was not good enough and was not right for the part. He was in the final 4 and Catherine had them audition with Kristen. All 4 were asked to come in one day and do a scene with Kristen. There are interviews of Kristen and Catherine on youtube were they said that the other 3 finalist acted quite cocky and full of them selves unlike Rob who came in very humble and nervous but completely nailed the audition. Please give credit when credit is due and stop the hating. Also stop the hypocrisy, if Ben got the part we would all be going crazy.

  22. That would REALLY suck if Ben Barnes played Edward Cullen, becuase of all the girls now obssesing over the series Vampire Academy and well he’s the “perfect” actor for “dimitri Belikov”(becuase of his long brown hair and brown eyes), and that would be weird if he played Two different vampires in two different series (im not saying he IS going to play in Vampire academy). Go Ben Barnes AKa Dimitri Belikov.

    Tip: Search up Dimirti Belikov on google Ben Barnes is everywhere.

  23. i used to like edward. in fact, i was a member of the team edward back then when i had no idea of prince caspian and of ben. when i watched dorian gray, i got so hooked with ben. then i learned that it was ben who equally played caspian. then my admiration had a full 360 degrees turn from robert to ben. gosh, ben’s so….so….goodness! he’s indescribable.

    it was a blessing in disguise that ben didn’t get the part of edward cullen. he is too talented for that role. but in fairness to robert, he is doing well too.

    ben’s a degree holder in english literature. he is fully qualified to portray the characters in the books he reads. he knows the stories. listen to his interviews and you will be amazed with how he tackled the intricacies of the plot and the character he’s playing. he’s such a rare find!

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