Why Are ‘Twilight’ Fans Called Rats? Inside the Origins of the Fandom’s Nickname

When it comes to beloved film franchises, few come close to the die-hard fans of the hugely successful Twilight film series. Despite over 15 years passing since the first film premiered, fans are still just as passionate today as they were then, but questions still remain, including the origins of a certain fan nickname.

Premiering in November 2008, Twilight centers on the passionate love story between teenager Bella Swan (played by Kristen Stewart) and 108-year-old vampire Edward Cullen, portrayed by Robert Pattinson. But why are fans of the movies called rats? Here's what we know.

As intense online fandoms go, those who adore and are obsessed with the Twilight franchise rank pretty high on the list. Still, even those who have claimed to be true fans from the beginning found themselves lost about why fans of the films are referred to as rats.

In a Reddit thread, an answer finally emerged to clue in those who were curious about the interesting way to refer to fans. “There’s a popular Facebook group called Twilight S--tposting formed a few years [ago] with a spin-off group for repetitive/common posts and mildly Twilight-related things called Twilight Sewerposting (a lore related name) and obviously rats live in sewers thus those in the community/big Twilight fans = rats,” the Reddit user explained.

At the height of the film franchise’s popularity, Twilight fans rarely, if ever, let a moment, instance, or event pass without showing love to the film. Case in point: 2008 Comic-Con.

Droves of female fans swarmed the annual film convention to see their favorite Twilight stars up close and personal, but their presence was reportedly so overwhelming that some male Comic-Con attendees said that “Twilight ruined Comic-Con.”

The fans also received considerable media attention, with articles about them in the Los Angeles Times and more. The Twilight fandom was also forever immortalized when Laurena Aker’s book, Fan Phenomena: The Twilight Saga, about its lasting impact, was released.

In short, kind of. In September 2024, it was announced that Midnight Sun, writer Stephenie Meyer’s 2020 companion novel to her best-selling Twilight book series, would be turned into a Netflix animated series from the perspective of Edward Cullen, according to the streaming service. Stephanie will also serve as the series’s executive producer.

Reboot rumors also circulated a year prior, in November 2023, when Twilight director Catherine Hardwicke revealed who she would cast in the roles of Bella and Edward if the film were remade.

When asked if Jenna Ortega and Jacob Elordi would be the new lead characters, Catherine happily agreed, per The Hollywood Reporter. “Oh, that would be perfect,” she said of Elordi, “I mean, he’s amazing. He probably would be Edward today.”

“I do think there’s a lot of really cool young actors today. Of course, you just mentioned Jenna Ortega, she’s amazing,” Catherine added. However, as of now, there have been no talks of an updated version of Twilight being made.