Twilight: Why The Quileutes Are Called Shapeshifters (& Not Werewolves) – Screen Rant

The Twilight universe has its own version of werewolves, who are actually referred to as "shapeshifters" here's why they are different.

The Twilight books and movies brought together humans, vampires, and werewolves, though these last ones are not called that, and are instead referred to as shapeshifters heres why. In 2005, Stephenie Meyer shared her unique vision of the aforementioned creatures in the novel Twilight, the first in a series of four books. The core of the series was the often problematic romance between vampire Edward Cullen and mortal Bella Swan, who came across different obstacles over the course of four books, such as a clan of vampires called the Volturi, and Jacob Black, Bellas best friend who was actually a werewolf.

The events of the books and movies were kickstarted by Bella moving to Forks, Washington, to live with her father, Charlie. Readers and viewers then followed her as she adapted to her new life, which obviously includedmaking new friends. Bella wasnt completely alone at the beginning as she soon came across Jacob, a long-time close friend of hers as Charlie and Jacobs father, Billy, were best friends. Jacob became her best friend and was by her side when she needed him most, specifically during most of New Moon. In that same book and movie, Twilight fans learned that Jacob wasnt a regular boy, and he could transform into a wolf, but he wasnt exactly a werewolf.

Related: Twilight: The Actors Who Almost Played Jacob Black

Werewolves are humans with the ability to shapeshift into a wolf, and this can happen for different reasons: either they were placed under a curse, were bitten or scratched by another werewolf, or is a genetic affliction. This transformation only happens during the night of a full moon, as seen in numerous TV shows and movies focused on these creatures. Now, the Quileute tribe in Twilight are not werewolves as they dont need the full moon to transform into wolves, and instead do it at will, thus earning the term of shapeshifters. Within the Twilight universe, this term is applied only to the direct descendants of Taha Aki who have phased, so with that in mind, Harry Clearwater, Joshua Uley, Quil Ateara III, and Billy Black are not shapeshifters, because even though they have the genes and potential to phase, they werent exposed to vampires while growing up, so they never transformed, as their children did.

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Twilight: Why The Quileutes Are Called Shapeshifters (& Not Werewolves) - Screen Rant