Why Laurent Has No Powers In The Twilight Movies

While Laurent had no supernatural powers in the Twilight movie adaptations, there was an internal justification for this element of the villain’s characterization. The Twilight movies changed a lot of details about traditional vampire lore. More of a fantasy romance saga than a horror series, the Twilight novels and their subsequent movie adaptations played down the scary, violent elements of vampire stories and focused more on the superpowers of the saga’s bloodsuckers.

This PG-rated approach to horror mythology helped makeTwilight the most financially successful vampire franchise of all time, as preteens and teenagers flocked to see the movies in droves since few of them were put off by its theoretically scary content. An integral part of the Twilight saga’s redefinition of vampire mythology was the franchise’s focus on the individual powers and abilities that each vampire had. Whether it was Edward Cullen’s ability to read thoughts or Alice Cullen’s foresight, many of the vampires in the Twilight saga had superpowers that proved pivotal to the plot of the series.

However, not every vampire had a personalized superpower in the Twilight universe. For example, although the Volturi were the most powerful and dangerous vampire coven in the series, Twilight villain Caius had no powers despite Aro and Marcus both boasting impressive supernatural abilities. Similarly, the original Twilight‘s villainous trio James, Laurent, and Victoria, had a member whose lack of supernatural abilities was vital to the story of the movie’s sequels. Unlike Victoria (who could disguise herself) and James (with his unnaturally advanced tracking skills), Laurent had no quantifiable powers in the Twilight novels and their movie adaptations. The reasoning behind this decision was that Laurent’s lack of powers would make him more beholden to stronger vampires, thus explaining his constant double-crossing and inconsistent allegiances.

Laurent Needed To Be Weaker For The Twilight Saga’s Story

Much like Jamie Campbell Bower’s Twilight villain Caius, Laurent’s scare factor as a villain was dimmed by his lack of supernatural powers. However, Laurent’s inability to access any superpowers meant that his loyalties lay with whoever was strongest in any conflict, resulting in the character siding with James, the Cullens, Victoria, and even the Denali coven at different points throughout the Twilight series. If he had any powers, his pragmatism would have been harder to justify in narrative terms. With his underpowered status, it was a logical survival mechanism.

Thus, much like Caius’s lack of powers was utilized to explain his loyalty toward Aro and the rest of the Volturi (since they were stronger than him and a threat to his survival if he betrayed them), Laurent’s disloyalty is equally justifiable thanks to his lack of powers. Unlike the powerful Volturi villain Marcus, Laurent wouldn’t have been able to fend for himself against stronger vampires if he was unable to create allegiances since he had no powers to rely on. As such, the Twilight villain used his wits and amoral attachment to power to survive, allowing him to work with and against the Cullens at different points without creating a plot hole.