And it’s set to be bigger and better than the previous bloodsucker blockbusters as heroes Edward and Bella are faced with more action danger and romance than ever before.
Industry insiders are predicting Eclipse will put the previous epics Twilight and New Moon into the shade as Britain goes vampire-crazy for the latest instalment, which has its UK premiere tonight.
This time, vamp-loving Bella has got just two things on her mind – being made into a bloodsucker herself and getting undead boyfriend Edward into bed.
But he refuses to jump between the sheets with her as he doesn’t believe in sex before marriage.
Eventually he promises to give into her desires, after she finishes school – and as long as she marries him before they get frisky and he makes her immortal.
Heart-throb Robert Pattinson, who plays Edward, reckons their chaste relationship keeps fans on the edge of their seats.
“If they just randomly had sex it would ruin the whole series,” the Brit actor says with a laugh. “It’s that moment of anticipation – whether it’s at the point of not knowing if someone likes you, or whether they like you enough to go into this.
“It’s the fear as well, especially if neither party has had sex before. I guess the fear kind of multiplies the desire and we’ve stretched that out. I think that’s why it has so many fans.”
For those who have missed out on the Twilight phenomenon, it revolves around Bella’s turbulent relationship with Edward, not helped by best friend and werewolf Jacob Black also being in love with her.
To make matters worse, werewolves and vampires are sworn enemies.
In Eclipse, Edward and Jacob battle it out for Bella’s affections. But their rivalry isn’t the only problem. An army of bloodthirsty newborn vamps led by the evil Victoria from the first film are terrorising the area.
Flame-haired Victoria (Bryce Dallas Howard, 29) is desperate for revenge after her lover was killed by Edward and is determined to kill Bella, leading to the franchise’s most exciting battle scene yet.
For both Kristen and Rob, nick-named R-Pattz by his legion of adoring girl fans, this was their most challenging film of the series yet.
Rob, 24, says: “Action for action’s sake is kind of boring. But this has a massive battle scene with the newborn vamps.
“There’s a lot of kissing and snuggling and hugging and then there’s the huge battle. It’s definitely something different.
“In the first two movies Edward has one problem – whether to be with this girl. He has one decision to make and it’s answered in New Moon. And now he has to connect to the real world, which opens a massive amount of emotion.
“That is much more fun to play, more complex. He’s coming out of his shell, so hopefully by the end he’ll be a normal 17-year-old guy who’s just a little pale.”
Kristen adds: “I think Edward’s a great guy, but what I think is really special about the story is how they feel about each other.
“They are undeniably drawn to one other by an animal instinct, but at the same time they are perfect for each other in a human way as well.”
But American beauty Kristen, 20, admits she was left red-faced by the scene where she tries to seduce Edward – even though the pair are an item in real life.
“It was horrible,” she reveals. “You have no idea! It was really embarrassing because it’s not normal for a girl to be in that position.
His traditional values are quite sweet but they are just not hers and it was pretty embarrassing to be treated like such an animal.”
The rivalry between Edward and Jacob (hunky Taylor Lautner, 18) also hots up in Eclipse as Bella decides who she loves the most.
“For some reason, I find it quite funny when I’m doing stuff with Taylor,” says Rob.
“There are a couple of confrontational scenes where I push him around a little bit. I thought I’d really scare him and grab him and it would freak him out and turn the scene upside down.
“Then I grabbed his shoulder and it was actually too big to get a grip on so I just dropped my hand. It was embarrassing.
“I got him back though. He kept having to dress up in a little grey Spandex wolf suit and try to be intimidating with Kristen patting him on the head. That was funny.
“Seriously, though, it was good because I never do anything with anyone except for Kristen and this was about letting Edward have petty emotions like being jealous of Jacob and not being able to control himself because he gets under his skin so much.
“It becomes much easier to play much bigger scopes of emotion once you let someone else get through your armour.”
Bella kisses Jacob in one sizzling scene and realises she’s in love with him, but just not as much as with Edward.
And giggling Kristen admits it was her favourite scene. “On set that day people were walking around calling me a floozy,” she says with a giggle.
“I went: ‘Geez, what’s wrong?’ I like it because it’s so different and it shocks the hell out of her and completely changes the dynamic she has with her boyfriend.
“It was awkward to shoot because I know Taylor so well and we are such good friends, but it was only awkward before and after. In the middle of it, it did feel the way it should have felt.”
Notoriously tight-lipped about their personal lives, both Rob and Kristen clam up when asked about their relationship.
But Rob admits he understands why their army of fans – known as Twihards – are so obsessed with them being together.
He says: “I guess people like stories. My basic conclusion is that they just want everything to be about Twilight.”
The Twilight Saga: Eclipse is out on July 9.
source/pattinsonlife/ RPLIfe
