Franchise Star Showdown: Jennifer Lawrence vs. Kristen Stewart

Image via Complex Original

Ever since news broke that Jennifer Lawrence would be fronting the film adaptation of Suzanne Collins' beloved young adult series The Hunger Games, comparisons to the current reigning princess of teen cinema, Twilight's Kristen Stewart, started pouring in. Of course, that was inevitable and it took cordial e-mail exchanges between the two to clear up rumors of a supposed fued.

Both Kristen and Jennifer are 21-year-old leading ladies of what is and what could be the most moneymaking franchise in film history. The verdict isn't out on whether The Hunger Games will triumph Twilight at the box office, but we decided to settle the competition between the two lovely actresses right here. Continue reading for the extensive breakdown in our Franchise Star Showdown.

FRANCHISE ROLES

Jennifer Lawrence: As Katniss Everdeen in the dystopian series The Hunger Games, Lawrence embodies an emotionally walled-in hunter who must fight in a no-holds-barred battle royale to deliver her district from another year of poverty. In addition to deflecting fatal blows, Everdeen parries feelings for her partner and purported love interest in order to focus on her survival, a noted difference from her fellow YA heroine, Twilight's Bella Swan.

Kristen Stewart: Forget how much critics slam the Twilight movies as a softcore romance novel on screen, Bella Swan is a feminist's nightmare. In the franchise, Swan is so crippled by her love for her fanged lover that she literally sits in her room for an entire year whimpering over him. In fact, the entire series revolves around this helpless teenage girl (who—spoiler alert!—eventually gets married and has a baby at 18) having to choose between her werewolf best friend or vampire boyfriend.

Advantage: Jennifer Lawrence

SEX APPEAL

Jennifer Lawrence: Lawrence can oscillate between a bombshell and a cute girl-next-door. With her blond hair, long legs, healthy frame and sweet smile, all the Kentucky native is missing is some cowboy boots and her own horse to complete her traditional all-American look or a Baywatch-esque red bikini to become the quintessential Hollywood vixen. Her appeal is so conventionally delicate yet versatile that its easy to find something attractive and relatable about her.

Kristen Stewart: K-Stew's personal appeal is not for everyone (though she can clean up for a photoshoot). Off-screen, her steez is predominantly for acoustic guitar players who smoke a daily pack of cigarettes and look too busy writing existentialistic fiction to find time to shower (i.e. Robert Pattinson). That doesn't necessarily make her unattractive; she has simply embodied the angsty, devil-may-care look that's a sharp contrast from typical Hollywood glam.

Advantage: Jennifer Lawrence

INDIE CREDIBILITY

Jennifer Lawrence: The newcomer couldn't have found a better way to break into Hollywood. Not only did she make her mainstream debut with a critically acclaimed indie Winter's Bone (which also landed her an Oscar nomination), but she followed it up with smaller roles in two other strong independent films, The Beaver and Like Crazy, a Sundance Grand Jury Prize Winner.

Kristen Stewart: The atypically dowdy starlet has the low-key, independent film persona, yet the star power that always lands her in huge studio-powered films. Stewart exhibited her talent in Speak, The Cake Eaters and The Yellow Handkerchief, but critics and festival-goers were generally mum on those efforts.

Advantage: Jennifer Lawrence

PERSONAL FASHION SENSE

Jennifer Lawrence: For a 21 year-old girl expected to sell the audience as Bradley Cooper's wife in Serena, Lawrence dresses the mature part. Lawrence's everyday get-up looks straight out of a stylist's mind.

Kristen Stewart: The actress consistently dresses just as relaxed as the Los Angeles suburb she grew up in. The 21 year-old hasn't grown out of lacing up Chuck Taylors with blue jeans, a V-neck and a hoodie daily.

Advantage: Kristen Stewart

LOVE LIFE

Jennifer Lawrence: Regardless of her low-key reputation, Lawrence isn't averse to dating her blockbuster co-stars. Although Lawrence only recently confirmed their relationship, Lawrence has been spotted out with fellow Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters student Nicholas Hoult, a.k.a Beast, on numerous occasions since they met on the set of X-Men: First Class.

Kristen Stewart: Unless you're a 13 year-old diehard Justin Bieber fan and Selena Gomez is your arch nemesis, you pretty much abhor Kristen Stewart. That's because she's been dating the other tween heartthrob, her brooding Twilight co-star Robert Pattinson. Despite keeping it undisclosed for the first few months, their relationship is a widely known fact—and their nickname, "Robsten," a household name—thanks to its constant spectacle on every single gossip site.

Advantage: Kristen Stewart

PUBLIC PERSONA

Jennifer Lawrence: Talk about a a publicist's dream come true! Lawrence is always on her game at Letterman and easily accessible to 90s babies—she likens her Hunger Games fame to Justin Timberlake from NSync. In fact, she's so charming that a fangirl under the YouTube name BellaCullen728, i.e. Stewart's married name in Twilight (gasp!), willingly endured the arduous task of compiling a 15-minute video of all Lawrence's funniest moments.

Kristen Stewart: We'd all expect the forefront of the biggest tween phenomenon ever to be more personable, but the fact is, Stewart naturally isn't the most coordinated nor the most eloquent person. Rather, she's the type to flip off paparazzi when she's annoyed and shy away from her fame. In her defense, if Stewart was a young male actor, public reaction would probably lean towards the typical Michael Cera compliment—"Omg he's so shy! Adorbz!"— as opposed to the usual comments she gets, which are a variation of the following: "Ew, what's wrong with her? She's probably on drugs."

Advantage: Jennifer Lawrence

RED CARPET STYLE

Jennifer Lawrence: At glamorous events, Lawrence isn't afraid to go bold. She's had a history of making impressions, albeit not always favorable ones. For instance, most people would agree that her Oscars 2011 Jessica Rabbit look was sexy and unforgettable, but some would debate that her The Hunger Games premiere outfit (see above) looked like an awkwardly fitted emergency blanket.

Kristen Stewart: The actress is notorious for her mismatched red carpet fashion and we don't think she really cares what people have to say about it. She's not shy about pairing Chuck Taylors with a clubby dress in front of event photographers nor does she mind donning abstract dresses that a tamer Lady Gaga would pick up. Stewart unapologetically owns every weird costume she's in, regardless of whether or not it fits her body.

Advantage: Jennifer Lawrence

OFF-SCREEN TALENTS

Jennifer Lawrence: As a teen, Lawrence was a pom-pom shaking, chanting cheerleader (a skill that benefited her in The Beaver) for her high school in Kentucky, though she wasn't as peppy as you'd expect. Of her extracurricular activity, Lawrence told InSite Gainesville, "I was the manliest cheerleader! I had the lowest voice [and] have this totally competitive side. . . I'll wrestle anyone, any time."

Kristen Stewart: Kristen Stewart actually knows how to work her way around a shiny silver pole, and it's exactly the kind of pole you're thinking about. To accurately portray a battered, runway teenage stripper in Welcome to the Rileys, Stewart spent three nights a week practicing her moves at a New Orleans strip club.

Advantage: Kristen Stewart

FAN BASE

Jennifer Lawrence: Lawrence's fandemonium is only beginning and what most Hunger Games fans love about her is what they project onto her from their favorite heroine, Katniss Everdeen. So far, Lawrence's most consistent fans have been critics and prestigious awards voters, which is arguably more beneficial career-wise than having millions of girls screaming for her. 

Kristen Stewart: It's a given that if you're in Twilight, you immediately have enough fans for your own small army (albeit the only weapon most of them can legally carry is a Super Soaker). But Stewart doesn't just have enough fans to willingly fight her battles or win her countless MTV Movie Awards (regardless of how clumsy she is with her honor), even her bodyguard has a fansite!

Advantage: Kristen Stewart

OSCAR POTENTIAL

Jennifer Lawrence: Given Lawrence earned an Academy Award nomination for her first major role in Winter's Bone, we'd say an Oscar for her is only a matter of time. In addition to acquiring a title role that was meant for Angelina Jolie in the much anticipated drama Serena, she is also starring opposite Robert De Niro and Bradley Cooper in this year's The Silver Linings Playbook, which is already generating Oscar buzz.

Kristen Stewart: Big blockbusters and awards recognition generally never go hand in hand, which hinders Stewart's Oscar viability. This June, Stewart's bringing to life an edgier Snow White in Snow White and the Huntsman with Charlize Theron, followed by the last installment of the billion-dollar vampire franchise, Twilight Breaking Dawn Part II in November. But that's not to suggest Stewart is doomed to her "teen girl's actress" reputation; critics and audiences just might take her seriously with her meaty supporting role in the film adaptation of Kerouac's On the Road, rumored to open at the Cannes Film Festival this year.

Advantage: Jennifer Lawrence