The actress whooping Edward Cullen's sparkly butt in upcoming Twilight sequel Eclipse won't be Rachelle Lefevre, after all.

The Montreal actress won't be reprising her role as villainous vamp Victoria in the series' third installment. And a replacement -- Bryce Dallas Howard (Terminator Salvation, Lady in the Water) -- has already been cast.

The reason? Unspecified "scheduling conflicts," or so says the official press release sent out by Summit Entertainment. Lefevre, who played the wild-haired villain in Twilight and the upcoming New Moon, is due to start work on an indie adaptation of the Mordecai Richler novel, Barney's Version, August 17 in Quebec -- the same date cameras start rolling on Eclipse way over in B.C.

"We are incredibly happy that Bryce has agreed to come into the franchise," Summit Entertainment exec Erik Feig said in the official statement. "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."

And what a role it'll be. If Eclipse proves to be anything like the book, Victoria will be getting plenty of time to sparkle -- and tear through both scenery and her enemies -- as she tries to take her revenge on Edward and Bella for the death of her ee-vil immortal beloved, James.

While there's yet to be any word about the casting switch straight from Lefevre, she told CBC earlier this month that she was thrilled to be cast in the upcoming Barney's Version -- alongside actors including Dustin Hoffman and Paul Giamatti. So, um, that’s a plus.

"I've been looking for this kind of role," Lefevre told the outlet. "She's extremely damaged and extremely fragile. [...] After playing Victoria in Twilight -- it's really like, it's ferocious in a way -- I really wanted to go the other way."

 

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