Midnight Sun is finally coming to Netflix, and every Twilight fan is freaking out, but not for the reason you’d expect. The biggest shock is that some of the most loved characters from the original movies will not appear in the animated take at all.Yep, the Cullen crew you grew up watching won’t be voicing their roles, and that surprise alone is making fans stop and stare. The cast themselves explained why, and honestly, their answers hit way harder than expected.Why the OG Cullen family won’t return for Netflix's Midnight Sun adaptation, even though they wanted toIf you’ve been holding your breath, waiting to hear Ashley Greene (Alice), Jackson Rathbone (Jasper), Kellan Lutz (Emmett), and Peter Facinelli (Carlisle) in Midnight Sun, the news is pretty heartbreaking. View this post on Instagram Instagram PostDuring a ScreenRant Q&A at Motor City Comic Con, Ashley Greene said straight up, “We’re not coming back as Alice, Jasper, Emmett, or Carlisle. Peter Facinelli even laughed as he explained that the group actually asked Netflix,“Can we do it?”But the answer was still no.Facinelli then shared something extremely emotional with ScreenRant that honestly every Twilight fan can relate to. He said,“I’m bummed, because I love that character so much, so I hate the idea of having someone else play it.”He discussed how watching old films brings people back to memories with their moms or friends and how that nostalgia is a huge part of Twilight. For him, Midnight Sun without the original faces and voices won’t have that same connection, even though he still believes the new team will create something good.Jackson Rathbone also shared a hilarious story about finding out the show even existed. Fans kept telling him about an animated Midnight Sun, and he thought it wasn’t real until an actress at a convention said she had auditioned. He was so shocked, he asked to see her script pages.After that, he called his agent to check if he could return and mentioned that the whole group even tried reaching out together. Rathbone explained to ScreenRant,“We’d love to come back and do it the right way.”He added that no one asked for big money and that they just wanted to do it for the fans, but Netflix,“very nicely said, ‘No.’”Kellan Lutz also pointed out something everyone was thinking. Since Midnight Sun is animated, their voices still match the characters they played years ago. Greene agreed and even joked, “We still sound so young!” She still ended by wishing the new voice actors luck and said she hopes the story lands with people the way it did the first time around.The bigger picture behind Netflix’s choice and why recapturing Twilight magic is so toughThe Cullen family isn’t the only one not returning for Midnight Sun. Chaske Spencer and Gil Birmingham, who played Sam and Billy Black, also confirmed through fan interactions and interviews that they won’t be part of the new show either.That means the animated adaptation is essentially starting fresh with a whole new cast, which totally changes how fans imagined this series would go. View this post on Instagram Instagram PostAshley Greene shared one concern that felt painfully real. She mentioned how many studios have tried to recreate what Twilight did and how “a lot of times it fails.” She said the original movies had a kind of “secret sauce,” and she’s curious if that can even be translated into animation.Facinelli compared the whole experience to when he accidentally downloaded the wrong animated Grinch movie for his son. He said the new version felt like “nails on a chalkboard” because it wasn’t the one he grew up with, even though his son still loved it.He used that to explain how fans might feel with Midnight Sun being totally different, but also added that a new generation could still connect with the new version.There’s also a practical side to Netflix’s decision. Bringing back Kristen Stewart (Bella) and Robert Pattinson (Edward) would be costly, as both actors have become global sensations. Even reuniting the supporting cast would add up fast.An animated series requires its own budget and space to build something bigger for future seasons. So a full recast makes financial sense, even if fans wish things had turned out differently.Twilight is walking into a whole new era with Midnight Sun, and Netflix has decided to leave these iconic characters behind. Even though Ashley Greene, Peter Facinelli, Jackson Rathbone, and Kellan Lutz were open to returning to Forks, Netflix has ultimately decided to build on the series with a fresh and new start.It might feel strange at first to adjust, but the Twilight universe has always found a way to pull people back in, even today. Now, fans just have to wait and see if this new direction gets a hold of that old magic again.Stay tuned to SoapCentral for more updates on Midnight Sun.