So much for consistency! In another wild and predictable move (predictable in my opinion), it looks like another Twilight cast member has been replaced…and it’s definitely created more drama than the movie themselves.

It was reported yesterday that Rachelle Lefevre, who plays the evil vampire Victoria in all of the films, had been replaced by the great Bryce Dallas Howard for The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, which is the 3rd book in the series. According to the reports, “scheduling conflicts” was the reasoning behind the sudden change, but as of today, new information that has come out has caused an uproar.

Below is a statement by Rachelle Lefevre herself claiming that she never knew about being “let go” from the Twilight films in favor of Bryce Dallas Howard: (as told to EW)

I was stunned by Summit’s decision to recast the role of Victoria for Eclipse. I was fully committed to the Twilight saga, and to the portrayal of Victoria. I turned down several other film opportunities and, in accordance with my contractual rights, accepted only roles that would involve very short shooting schedules. My commitment to Barney’s Version is only ten days. Summit picked up my option for Eclipse. 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.

And Summit Entertainment, feeling backed into a corner and publicly humiliated, released their own very political sounding statement:

We at Summit Entertainment are disappointed by Rachelle Lefevre’s recent comments which attempt to make her career choices the fault of the Studio. Her decision to discuss her version of the scheduling challenges publicly has forced the Studio to set the record straight and correct the facts.

– Ms. Lefevre’s representatives were advised as early as April that THE TWILIGHT SAGA: ECLIPSE was expected to start shooting in early August.

- If Ms. Lefevre was, as she describes “passionate,” about being part of THE TWILIGHT SAGA, we feel that she and her representatives would have included us in her decision to work on another film that would conflict with the shooting schedule of THE TWILIGHT SAGA: ECLIPSE.

- It was not until July 20th that Summit was first informed of Ms. Lefevre’s commitment to BARNEY’S VERSION, a commitment we have since been advised she accepted in early June. Summit had acted in good faith that she would be available to fulfill her obligations both in terms of rehearsals and shooting availability for THE TWILIGHT SAGA: ECLIPSE. We feel that her choice to withhold her scheduling conflict information from us can be viewed as a lack of cooperative spirit which affected the entire production.

– Furthermore Ms. Lefevre took a role in the other film that places her in Europe during the required rehearsal time, and at least ten days of THE TWILIGHT SAGA: ECLIPSE’s principal photography. This period is essential for both rehearsal time with the cast, and for filming at key locations that are only available during the initial part of production.

- Contrary to Ms. Lefevre’s statement, it is simply untrue that the Studio dismissed her over a ten day overlap. It is not about a ten day overlap, but instead about the fact that THE TWILIGHT SAGA: ECLIPSE is an ensemble production that has to accommodate the schedules of numerous actors while respecting the established creative vision of the filmmaker and most importantly the story.

The fact remains that Ms. Lefevre’s commitment to the other project – which she chose to withhold from Summit until the last possible moment – makes her unfortunately unavailable to perform the role of Victoria in THE TWILIGHT SAGA: ECLIPSE.

This sounds a lot like what happened with Terrence Howard in Iron Man when he was replaced by Don Cheadle and claims, to this day, that it was a complete surprise to him and that he feels slighted by Warner Bros. I don’t know what’s true and I don’t think we’ll ever know as I’m sure Summit Entertainment will work hard to spin the story the way they want it to go, but I will say this: This is another sign of the failure of Twilight as a movie adaptation. (a big post explaining that is coming)

Why can’t Twilight keep its cast and crew? First the director leaves all of a sudden, then one of the most important and pivotal characters, Jacob, almost gets recast after the first movie, and now this….

Who do you believe? Do you think this will add to the demise of Twilight?