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It’s been years since the final Twilight movie was released in theaters. And while the mania has quelled quite a bit, the five films are still beloved by millions around the world. Furthermore, popular streaming services like Netflix have helped the films to cast a spell on new audiences and enchant older fans into falling in love with the movies once more.

Of course, the Twilight movies had a dedicated audience before the first actor was even cast. Thanks to the eponymous books, written by Stephenie Meyer, Bella and Edward’s love story had already enraptured thousands. But even the masses of dedicated bibliophiles weren’t enough to predict what a global phenomenon the films would become.

Twilight movie cast and crew pose for a photo at the premiere
‘Twilight’ cast and crew | Elizabeth Reaser, Jackson Rathbone, Christian Serratos, Taylor Lautner, Rachelle Lefevre, Kellan Lutz, Ashley Greene, Nikki Reed, Kristen Stewart, Billy Burke, Robert Pattinson, Catherine Hardwicke, and Melissa Rosenberg | Lester Cohen/WireImage

The ‘Twilight’ cast thought they were just making a cool indie movie

Those cast in the Twilight movies have been candid about how much fun they had on the set of the first film. Determined to make something more than just a cheesy teen love story, everyone was very committed to the project. And while they were cognizant that they were making something special, they had no idea that they’d tapped into something so intense.

In an interview with Insider, Nikki Reed (who was cast as Rosalie Hale in the Twilight movies) reflected on shooting the first film. “We knew we were making something cool, but we didn’t really know the extent of it until well after we finished filming,” Reed shared.

Nikki Reed remembers thinking the film would be small until her castmates went to Comic-Con

So when did the cast realize the potential of the Twilight movies? The cast cites Comic-Con as a turning point. “The moment we realized it was Comic-Con,” Reed continued. “I remember sitting at home because for the first film, I think only Rob and Kristen were asked to go to Comic-Con and not the whole cast yet. And at the time we thought we were just making this relatively small-ish movie. It definitely wasn’t this blockbuster cultural phenomenon. It was a cool little vampire movie. And then something wild happened.”

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That something wild took the form of thousands of screaming fans. Reed recalls seeing “lines of cars and people on the streets, just screaming when they saw Rob get out of his car to walk into the Comic-Con hotel. “I remember being like, ‘Oh my God, it’s crazy. It’s like he’s famous or something.”

Reed recalls realizing that she and her castmates would be making more ‘Twilight’ movies

It may be hard to imagine, but until Comic-Con happened, the cast didn’t even know if they’d be making more than one Twilight movie, let alone five. However, once they saw the fan reaction, Reed said they knew they’d likely be reprising their roles in the cast.

“Everybody who makes something that’s part of a book series or a trilogy or something, you’re always like, ‘Hmm, we’d like to make the other ones, but who knows if we will,'” Reed revealed. “And then I think we realized, ‘Wow, we’re definitely gonna make another one and maybe even two or three more things.”

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