Because of scheduling conflicts, Rachelle Lefevre will not be able to return as character Victoria in the third Twilight film, Eclipse. Lefevre appears as Victoria in the upcoming The Twilight Saga: New Moon. Instead, she will be replaced by Lady in the Water and Terminator Salvation thespian Bryce Dallas Howard.

"We are incredibly happy that Bryce has agreed to come into the franchise," said Summit Entertainment's president of worldwide production and acquisitions, Erik Feig. "Rachelle brought Victoria to great screen life and Bryce will bring a new dimension to the character. The franchise is lucky to have such a talented actress as Bryce coming in to fill the role."

The Twilight Saga: Eclipse is set to start shooting next month, with a release date of June 30, 2010.

What do you think, Twilight fans? Is Howard going to be a good fit? Is Lefevre an irreplaceable presence? Are any of you as curious as I am to see the Hard Candy director David Slade handle a Twilight movie?

Update: Apparently Lefevre's work on the Dustin Hoffman/Paul Giamatti film "Barney's Version" caused the "scheduling conflict." However, E! News is reporting that the commitment was only going to be 10 days.

In a statement to the website, she said that she was "stunned" by the recasting, and that she had "full commitment" to play the role of Victoria. Ouch! Could Summit Entertainment really be that picky, or is there some other agenda going on? But apparently it's not as clean-cut as we all thought. My heart goes out to Lefevre though - losing a part in Twilight just sucks. But being in a movie with Dustin Hoffman and Paul Giamatti - well, this could be a blessing in disguise for her acting career.

I wonder if Summit Entertainment would have ever threatened to replace Robert Pattinson if he tried to make one of his indie movies not on Twilight's schedule?

Source: Variety, E! News