Do Not Go Gentle Into That Twilight

The long dusk of Twilight finally fades to black. Seven years after Stephenie Meyer’s novel about a new girl in town who falls for a vampire, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn–Part 2 (out Nov. 16) brings the monumental franchise to a close. Fans known as Twi-hards–who helped propel the previous Breaking Dawn film to $705 million in worldwide grosses–will be left without an addictive paranormal romance to sink their fangs into.

Then again, vampires are hard to kill. The tale of human teen Bella Swan (played in the films by Kristen Stewart) and her unearthly beau Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson) may well continue outside the confines of the Twilight books and movies. The saga will remain vibrantly undead on fan-fiction forums; in official Twilight conventions, cruises and campsites (like the one this month in Los Angeles, where thousands of fans spent days waiting to see the stars of Breaking Dawn–Part 2 arrive for the premiere); in scholarly essays, indie-rock band names (including the Bella Cullen Project and Be Safe Bella) and baby-naming habits (Isabella was the No. 2 name for newborn girls in the U.S. last year); and in the tabloid industry unto itself that is on-again, off-again lovers Pattinson and Stewart, a.k.a. Robsten.

Most significant, Bella and Edward will live on in the many TV shows, movies and–especially–young-adult book series that have taken their cues from Twilight. If you’re a bereft Twi-hard wondering where to transfer your affections in a desolate post-Twilight world, follow our handy flow chart. Or just sit tight: rumor has it that remakes of the movies are already in the works.