David Slade Confirmed for ‘Twilight Saga: Eclipse’

Published by Jeff Leins on April 22, 2009

David Slade (30 Days of Night, Hard Candy) has officially been hired to direct the third movie in the popular vampire franchise, The Twilight Saga: Eclipse.  Author Stephenie Meyer and Summit president of production Erik Feig met with Slade this week before signing the deal and making the announcement Wednesday night.

According to the press release, Meyer called Slade a “visionary filmmaker who has so much to offer this franchise.”  Feig touted his ability to “create complex, visually arresting worlds.”

Twilight screenwriter Melissa Rosenberg wrote the script for this third installment and the upcoming second adaptation, The Twilight Saga: New Moon, on November 20.  Of course, Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart will return to stare passionately at each other for 90+ minutes.  In the story, Bella must choose between Edward and Jacob.  I’m on the edge of my seat already…

I was under the impression a director had already been picked for the third movie,but apparently I was misinformed. I guess Juan Antonio Bayona (The Orphanage) wasn’t able to secure the position, despite being overqualified for it.

Slade has experience with vampires, but not with films of this size or style.  After Bayona, Paul Weitz, James Mangold, and the brief consideration of Drew Barrymore, Summit seemed determined to cycle through a list of directors that aren’t a good fit for the franchise.  They finally settled on potentially the worst option with the movie scheduled to shoot at the end of this summer for release June 30, 2010.

Earlier today, Nikki Finke wrote about this leaked information from sources at Summt.  She has been on top of inside info since the start of the Twilight saga, despite her frequent ego trips.  Entertainment Weekly later confirmed her report just for good measure and added that no deal was in place at the time.