Due to what Summit Entertainment said was a scheduling conflict, the studio dropped actress Rachelle Lefevre from her role as Victoria in “Eclipse,” the third film in the saga.
Summit announced that Bryce Dallas Howard would assume the role in “Eclipse; Lefevre still appears as the character in “New Moon,” the soon-to-be-released second film.
“I was stunned,” says Lefevre in a statement published by PEOPLE. “I was fully committed to the Twilight saga.”
According to Lefevre, the conflict stems from her booked appearance in film “Barney’s Version,” which shares a production start date with the third “Twilight” film. The actress, nonetheless, explains that she was surprised to be recast given that the expected timeframe for her shoot on the other film is only ten days.
“Given the length of filming for Eclipse, never did I fathom I would lose the role over a 10 day overlap.
“I was happy with my contract with Summit and was fully prepared to continue to honor it,” adds Lefevre. “Summit chose simply to recast the part. I am greatly saddened that I will not get to complete my portrayal of Victoria for the Twilight audience.”
