Twilight's Rewrites Ruined Greatest Villain The Series Could Have
Having been killed off in the second Stephenie Meyer novel, Edi Gathegi's Laurent did not play a significant role in the vampire saga. However, Laurent's arc was initially much more developed and compelling.
Throughout Stephenie Meyer's series, the portrayal of villains was not particularly nuanced. While Marcus of the Volturi coven had a tragic background involving the death of his mate, it was not explored in the movie franchise. Other members of the Volturi coven were portrayed as half-baked, villainous characters. Thus, Victoria and James, who were portrayed as vindictive and murderous, were not given much depth in either the original novel or the 2008 film adaptation.
However, at least one villain's arc could have been greatly improved if left as it was initially planned. Laurent, played by Edi Gathegi in the movies, was a cunning and ambitious vampire who openly expressed his immoral views. He was portrayed as someone who would align himself with whoever he believed would come out victorious in a battle, regardless of their motives.
Laurent was killed by Jacob and his pack mates in New Moon after attempting to murder Bella Swan. This, along with James' death, was part of the reason why Victoria went after Bella in Eclipse.
However, originally, New Moon and Eclipse did not exist, and Twilight was followed by an unfinished sequel, Forever Dawn, which had a similar plot to Breaking Dawn.
As a result, Laurent survived till the end of the series and, in a compelling plot twist, joined the Cullens in their battle against the Volturi coven. This sudden change in allegiance was much more fitting for Laurent's character than blind loyalty to Victoria.
Laurent's greatest asset was his ability to make deals and alliances with different groups to suit his own interests. That's why his death feels out of place.
If Laurent's storyline went as it was initially planned, his ability to manipulate situations to his advantage could play a significant role in both the book series and the franchise. Instead, the vampire chose to follow Victoria's orders which led to his death and was totally out of character for him.
Killing off Laurent, Meyer sacrificed an interesting character for the sake of adding stakes to the story. While his death does provide Victoria with more reason to target Bella, it also comes at the cost of losing one of the most interesting villains in the series.