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Twilight fans how do you feel about the sight of Taylor Swift having lunch at the table behind Bella Swan? Can you imagine this star-studded addition to the cast? The American singer-songwriter could have been part of the very popular at the time vampire series had the director not turned her down because she was too popular.

During an interview on the podcast The Twilight Effect with Ashley Greene and Melanie Howe, director Chris Weitz recalled being told at the time by Swift’s agent that the musician wanted to be in the 2009 film, given how much of a “Twi-hard” (Twilight fan) she was.

“Taylor Swift was a huge Twi-hard, and Taylor Swift and I had the same agent at the time. He said, ‘Taylor would like to be in this movie, not because of you, but she’s a Twi-hard,’” Weitz recalled. According to him, the agent was fine with the role being a minimal one like “someone at the cafeteria or the diner” because she just wanted to be in the film.

However, Weitz declined the request because he felt the ‘All Too Well’ singer was too big a star and would be a distraction from the plot of the film. To keep the fans’ focus on Twilight was a priority for him, though he may regret his decision now.

“The hardest thing for me was to be like, the moment that Taylor Swift walks onto the screen, for about five minutes, nobody is going to be able to process anything,” Weitz said. “I kick myself for it too, because I was like, ‘Wow, I could’ve been hanging out with Taylor Swift. We could have been friends.’”

Thinking about her reaction, he added, “She must have been like, ‘Who is this jerk?’ But sometimes you make decisions thinking this is for the best of the film.”

The ‘Shake It Off’ singer may have missed out on a cameo in New Moon, but she has since made acting appearances on the small and big screen, including in New Girl, The Giver, The Lorax, Valentine’s Day and Cats. Swift is next set to appear in David O. Russell’s Amsterdam, starring Christian Bale, Margot Robbie and John David Washington.