Eclipse Recast: Twilight's Best. Move. Ever.

Forget the raging debate over the Eclipse recast, here are the reasons why the new Victoria will save the franchise

By Joal Ryan Jul 31, 2009 5:15 AMTags
Bryce Dallas Howard, Rachelle LefevreFrazer Harrison/ Getty Images, Todd Williamson/ Getty Images

Bryce Dallas Howard is going to save the Twilight Saga.

We don't care if Summit is a mean studio that unfairly canned Rachelle Lefevre, or if Lefevre is a contract-breaking actress who was rightly cut by Summit. The lawyers can sort out the definitions. And Answer B!tch can walk you through why recasts, in general, don't ruin movie series.

The bottom line is Lefevre's out, Howard's in, and we can Count Dracula all the way up to five when it comes to why the move will enliven the undead franchise.

1. Howard's Got More Cred Than Anybody Else in the Critically Maligned Twilight Cast: And we don't mean because Howard braved a gig with a misanthropic Danish director who makes movies for people who hate movies. (Although that does show spunk.) No, we mean because she's psychic. You know how in Twilight, Ashley Greene says she's a psychic? Howard is a psychic.

2. Make That, Way More Vampire Cred: You know how in Twilight, Robert Pattinson says he's a vegetarian? Howard is a vegetarian.

And boom goes the dynamite again.

And by the way, yes, we know, Victoria, the character Howard will be playing in Eclipse, is no fan of the Veggie Lover's Pizza. But that just means Howard won't have to do too much inner work to find the motivation to take a bite out of Kristen Stewart's Bella. The woman will be hungry.

3. Her Hair Is Super Red: Granted, this seems more like a statement of obvious fact than an argument, but it's both. Twilight was as deary-looking as a faded, old flannel shirt. If Lefevre was supposed to supply the color boost, then her reddish-strawberry blonde locks didn't do it. Howard, on the other styling hand, could use her alarmingly bright mane to help fog-bedeviled pilots land safely at any Northwest airport. Or to light a fire under (or on) her all-angst, no-fun costars.

4. Pattinson and Stewart Can Take Five: Could our Twilight lovers have looked any more miserable at Comic-Con? Could they be any happier that Howard has been sucked into the fanggirl vortex and, for at least a few days, obscured all other doings in the Twilight zone?

Will they finally lighten up, and enjoy the ride?

Well, all right, let's not go crazy.

Still, even if the Howard story gives Pattinson and Stewart just five minutes of rest and relaxation, then that's five more minutes than the couple has had in the past eight months. And happy and relaxed stars can go a long way in making for happy and relaxed movie sets. And while this is not to say that tense movie sets don't produce great movies, too, we think if Pattinson and Stewart get any more glum, the Twilight vampires will have a hard time keeping their trademark sparkle.

5. The Rest of Your Cast Is Locked In, but Good: You think another Twilight undercard actor is going to pull the slightest negotiating ploy after Levefre's quick knockout? You think you're going to have to endure another recast? You think fans are ever going to stop debating this recast?