That is right Twilighters!
The vengeful vampire Victoria played by Rachelle Lefevre in Twilight and New Moon will be replaced by Bryce Dallas Howard. Bryce will replace Rachelle Lefevre in The Twilight Saga: Eclipse as Summit Entertainment announced yesterday.
The announcement of this change in casting has come as a major surprise to fans of the Twilight franchise. This is no mistake-it is completely true, as the announcement came straight from Summit.
Fans are still coming down from their New Moon Comic-Con high of last week, when the film had a major presence at the San Diego event. Rachelle herself was there with the cast, speaking about her role as Victoria, and giving no indication that she would not be returning for Eclipse.
On July 11, it was reported that Rachelle would be joining the cast of Barney’s Vision, a drama starring Dustin Hoffman and Paul Giamatti. According to the report, filming for this starts on the same day as Eclipse, which is… August 17.
Could this be the “scheduling conflict” that caused this casting change Summit Ent. was talking about?
Here is the official press release from Summit:
THE TWILIGHT SAGA ADDS
ACTRESS BRYCE DALLAS HOWARD TO FILM FRANCHISEActress Rachelle Lefevre Will Be Replaced By Howard In The Role Of VictoriaLos Angeles – July 28, 2009 – Summit Entertainment announced today that Bryce Dallas Howard will take over the role of “Victoria” in the studio’s upcoming production of THE TWILIGHT SAGA: ECLIPSE. Actress, Rachelle Lefevre, who portrayed the character in TWILIGHT as well as the upcoming release of THE TWILIGHT SAGA: NEW MOON, will not continue in the role due to scheduling conflicts with another commitment the actor has made. THE TWILIGHT SAGA: ECLIPSE will start filming in Vancouver this coming August.
THE TWILIGHT SAGA: ECLIPSE, the third film in the studio’s TWILIGHT film franchise based on Stephenie Meyer’s blockbuster book series, will be directed by David Slade from a screenplay written by Melissa Rosenberg. The film will be released theatrically in North America on Wednesday, June 30, 2010.
“We are incredibly happy that Bryce has agreed to come into the franchise,” said Erik Feig, Summit’s President of Worldwide Production and Acquisitions. “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.”
Howard most recently starred in TERMINATOR SALVATION as Kate Connor and has been seen in SPIDER-MAN 3, LADY IN THE WATER, and THE VILLAGE. She was nominated for a Golden Globe for her leading performance as an actress in the HBO film AS YOU LIKE IT.
Rachelle was at the San Diego Comic-Con on Thursday, July 23, when New Moon had several events. She did not participate in the panel, but her presence was definitely known.
We are going to miss Rachelle, but we wish her the best of the luck with her career!
Much love Rachelle, you will always be our Victoria ;]!