Rolling Stone’s Guide to the Twilight Saga

The first movie installment of the final book in the series finds Bella and Edward finally getting married, going on their honeymoon and planning for a half-vampire baby. It's also the worst movie of the franchise thus far, says Peter Travers, who calls it "sexless, bloodless, padded and plodding."

Rolling Stone imagined what Jack White, Mick Jagger, Miley Cyrus and more would look like with their fangs out.

"What's up in number three?" asks Peter Travers in his review of Eclipse. "Bella has to choose between Edward, the dreamy vampire who never bears his fangs, and Jacob, the ab-fab wolf who never wears a shirt." It's being called the best film of the series so far, but does Travers believe it lives up to the hype?

In 2008, just before the Twilight mania exploded into an all-consuming frenzy, Rolling Stone labeled Robert Pattinson our "Hot Actor" of the year. In an unguarded interview, he revealed his inspirations for playing heartthrob Edward Cullen, how he copes with the series' die-hard fans and his theory on the popularity of Twilight.

In November 2009, just prior to the release of the Saga's second film, Neil Strauss found out how a skinny little martial-arts kid went from unknown to starring in the blockbuster Twilight franchise when Lautner landed his own RS cover.

This article appears in the December 10, 2009 issue of Rolling Stone. The issue is available now in Rolling Stone All Access.

Ashley Greene stopped by the RS offices to chat with Peter Travers about auditioning for Bella, her party girl vampire character Alice and why Eclipse is the most "guy-friendly and action-packed" film in the series.

Nikki Reed opens up about being chased by paparazzi ("maybe Britney Spears was on my plane?"), her character's back story in third film Eclipse ("We went back to the '30s, Jack Houston played Royce, my fiance"), and whether she would have picked up Stephenie Meyer's books back when she was 13 ("I don't know if I'm supposed to say this, but probably not… I was a really cynical child"). Oh, and one last thing: she admits she's Team Jacob.

There would be no Twilight without Stephenie Meyer, who conceived the basics of the vampire love story after waking up from an all-too-real dream. On the eve of the release of the fourth and final Twilight book, she talked to Rolling Stone about the series' success and the rock & roll soundtrack she created for it.

In 2009, the series' second book was turned into a film which found Kristen Stewart's Bella turning to werewolf Jacob (Taylor Lautner) after her vampire boyfriend, Edward (Robert Pattinson), left her. The film's climax took place in Italy, and featured an evil vamp played by Dakota Fanning.

• Video: Peter Travers Reviews 'The Twilight Saga: New Moon'

• Read Peter Travers' New Moon review

• Read Rolling Stone's Q&A with Director Chris Weitz

The movie that started it all. In 2008, a low-budget, indie-style flick was released that would go on to become a box-office blockbuster and worldwide phenomenon. Based on Stephenie Meyer's hugely successful Twilight novel, the film centered around the love between ordinary girl Bella (Kristen Stewart) and her heartthrob vampire boyfriend, Edward (Robert Pattinson).