The cast of the Twilight franchise are in for a scary ride when filming starts on the vampire series' third outing Eclipse - horror moviemaker David Slade has been signed to the project.

Speculation over the director of the third bloodsucking movie has been rife over recent months, with Drew Barrymore and Juan Antonia Bayona both being linked to the coveted position. Catherine Hardwicke broke records with her take on Twilight, while Chris Weitz is currently in charge of the forthcoming sequel New Moon.

However bosses at film studio Summit and author of the books from which the films are adapted, Stephenie Meyer, have given the green light for the third picture, Eclipse, to take a more sinister twist - by hiring scare master Slade. The director is famous for his dark films, including Hard Candy in 2005, and has already worked with the vampire genre - directing 2007's critically acclaimed 30 Days Of Night.

And Meyer is adamant Slade is the right guy for the job: "I am thrilled that David Slade will be directing Eclipse. 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."

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(This news article provided by World Entertainment News Network)