The Twilight franchise has already gone through three different director changes, and now Rachelle Lefevre will not be returning for the third film, Eclipse, due to a “scheduling conflict.” Lafevre who plays “Victoria” is being replaced by Bryce Dallas Howard aka Gwen Stacy in Spider-Man 3.

Erik Feig, Summit’s President of Worldwide Production and Acquisitions said: “We are incredibly happy that Bryce has agreed to come into the franchise. 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.”

David Slade is set to direct Eclipse that will be in theaters in North America on Wednesday, June 30, 2010.

Synopsis:

Bella once again finds herself surrounded by danger as Seattle is ravaged by a string of mysterious killings and a malicious vampire continues her quest for revenge. In the midst of it all, she is forced to choose between her love for Edward and her friendship with Jacob—knowing that her decision has the potential to ignite the ageless struggle between vampire and werewolf. With her graduation quickly approaching, Bella is confronted with the most important decision of her life.

UPDATE: According to the Associated Press Lefevre signed on to act in the drama Barney’s Version starring Paul Giamatti and Dustin Hoffman. Summit claims that Lefevre did not inform them of her role in the film and her ten day shooting schedule conflicted with Eclipse’s .

Lefevre told the AP: “I turned down several other film opportunities and, in accoradance with my contractual rights, accepted only roles that would involve very short shooting schedules. Although the production schedule for ‘Eclipse’ is over three months long, Summit said they had a conflict during those ten days and would not accommodate me.”