Juan Antonio Bayona Helming Eclipse

Orphanage Director Juan Antonio Bayona Helming Eclipse

From The Orphanage to Twilight. Spanish director Juan Antonio Bayona has been hired by Summit to direct The Twilight Saga: Eclipse. It was initially rumored that Drew Barrymore might direct the sequel, but Summit has since decided to hand over the reigns to Bayona in the end. Eclipse is being shot back-to-back with the currently in-production The Twilight Saga: New Moon, and is already set for release on June 30th, 2010. Bayona is a protege of Guillermo del Toro, who originally found him and helped produce his first feature film, The Orphanage, after having directed numerous shorts and music videos.

It's a bit odd that Summit wants a completely different direct for each of the three Twilight films, but maybe it's good that they keep things fresh. For those who aren't familiar with Stephenie Meyer's novels, Eclipse focuses on an "army" of newborn vampires who show up in the Seattle area. The Cullen family joins forces with Jacob's werewolf pack to fight off these new vampires in a big battle. I know a lot of people who thought Bayona's The Orphanage was one of the best horror films in recent years, so it'll be very interesting to see how much he brings to the Twilight franchise. Maybe he'll actually attract a wider audience this time?