Report: David Slade in talks to direct 'The Twilight Saga: Eclipse'

Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson at the London premiere of "Twilight."

Credit: AP Photo/Alastair Grant

Update:  Summit Entertainment officially announced David Slade will direct "The Twilight Saga: Eclipse."  Find out more here.

Should it be this hard to find a director for the third "Twilight" film?

The sequel to last fall's blockbuster, "The Twilight Saga: New Moon," is currently shooting now and will hit theaters Nov. 20.  Summit Entertainment, however, is planning on releasing the third adaptation of Stephanie Meyer's popular literary series, "Eclipse" (retitled "The Twilight Saga: Eclipse"), June 30, 2010. That means the studio needs to find a director to prep the picture before shooting begins this fall.

With Chris Weitz ("The Golden Compass") busy with "New Moon," Drew Barrymore was the first to actively campaigned for the job.  Meanwhile, Summit conducted a serious search to recruit an up and coming filmmaker who could bring some edge and even more style to the franchise.  When word leaked that Spanish filmmaker and Guillermo del Toro protege Juan Antonio Bayona ("The Orphanage") was brought on board it was deemed a gutsy and inspired choice as Summit's goal is to actively expand the franchise behind the hardcore base with each new sequel.  At this point, it's still unclear whether Bayona was ever officially on board "Eclipse," but he's certainly not now (no doubt a story for a future Vanity Fair article).  So, the search continues.

According to Deadline Hollywood Daily, the latest director to be considered by Summit is David Slade.  Best known for the Josh Hartnett horror flick "30 Days of Night," the filmmaker first came to critical prominence after the Ellen Page thriller "Hard Candy."  Daily reports Slade has met with both Meyer and Summit President of Production Erik Feig, but the outlet could also be the victim of Slade's agent trying to publicly pressure the studio to sign him (a service the industry trades have inadvertently provided for years).  

More likely, the studio still hasn't chosen a filmmaker for the project and Slade is one of a few final candidates.  HitFix can report one prominent filmmaker was recently re-approached to helm the project after initially turning it down.  Whatever the case, the clock is ticking for a director to come on board and get "Eclipse" out the door in time.

Look for more updates regarding this story as news warrants on HitFix.