Twilight sequel - NEW MOON

To the Twilight fanatics out there, according to ET, there will be a major change to the production of the upcoming Twilight sequel, "New Moon".

The Twilight director Catherine Hardwicke and Summit Entertainment announced to ET that the next installment of the very popular Twilight franchise will not be under the direction of Hardwicke anymore.

Saying, "I am sorry that due to timing I will not have the opportunity to direct 'New Moon,'" Hardwicke said. "Directing 'Twilight' has been one of the great experiences of my life, and I am grateful to the fans for their passionate support of the film. I wish everyone at Summit the best with the sequel -- it is a great story." "Catherine did an incredible job in helping us to launch the 'Twilight' franchise and we thank her for all of her efforts and we very much hope to work with her on future Summit projects," said Erik Feig, Summit's President of Production.

"We as a studio have a mandate to bring the next installment in the franchise to the big screen in a timely fashion so that fans can get more of Edward, Bella and all of the characters that Stephanie Meyer has created. We are able to pursue an aggressive time frame as we have the luxury of only adapting the novels into screenplays as opposed to having to create a storyline from scratch."

The Tentative date for the release of Twilight's NEW MOON is set at the end of 2009 or early 2010.