Twilight CastFollowing months of speculation, Summit Entertainment has confirmed that “30 Days of Night” helmer David Slade will direct “Eclipse,” the third installment of the hit “Twilight” franchise.

The movie, which is scheduled for release on June 30, 2010, will be adapted from Stephenie Meyer’s vampire-romance novel by Melissa Rosenberg, who also scripted “Twilight” and its sequel, “New Moon.”

“Stephenie Meyer’s ‘Eclipse’ is a muscular, rich, vivid book, and we at Summit looked long and hard for a director who could do it justice,” the studio’s president of production Erik Feig said in a statement. “We believe we have found that talent in David Slade, a director who has been able to create complex, visually arresting worlds.”

Those familiar with Slade’s past work will note it’s not the first time he is taking on the subject of vampires. The 2007 horror film “30 Days of Night,” based on a comic book miniseries, starred Josh Harnett in a grim tale of an Alaskan town beset by vicious bloodsuckers.

The British director, who started out in music videos, made his feature film debut with the 2005 revenge thriller “Hard Candy,” starring Ellen Page and Patrick Wilson.

“I am thrilled that David Slade will be directing ‘Eclipse,’ ” Meyer said in the statement. “He’s a visionary filmmaker who has so much to offer this franchise. From the beginning, we’ve been blessed with wonderful directorial talent for the ‘Twilight’ saga, and I’m so happy that ‘Eclipse’ will be carrying on with that tradition.”

The second “Twilight” movie, “New Moon,” is currently in production with director Chris Weitz and will hit theatres Nov. 20.






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