Summit Entertainment announced Saturday morning that Chris Weitz has been officially tapped to direct a ‘New Moon’ sequel, as it was unable to reach an agreement for ‘Twilight’ director Catherine Hardwicke to return for the sequel. ‘Twilight’ screenwriter Melissa Rosenberg is penning the sequel, the production of which is scheduled to begin soon, and will be released at the end of 2009 or early 2010.

Confirming the news on her official website, ‘Twilight’ author Stephenie Meyer calmed the rising anguish among fans who loved the first film adaptation. Meyer praised Weitz, and bid a fond farewell to ‘Twilight’ director Catherine Hardwicke.

In three weeks of solid box office performance, ‘Twilight’ has generated domestic grosses of more than $144 million and another $33 million overseas. With the four books in Stephenie Meyer’s series, already selling over 17 million copies worldwide, the vampire thriller is a ready-made franchise for Summit.

‘New Moon’, the second title in the series, is centered on Edward Cullen leaving Bella Swan in order to keep her safe from other vampires. The lead roles in the film are to be played by Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart.

In a statement, Weitz - who most recently wrote and directed New Line’s ‘The Golden Compass’ - said: “The extraordinary world that Stephenie has created has millions of fans, and it will be my duty to protect on their behalf the characters, themes and story they love. This is not a task to be taken lightly, and I will put every effort into realizing a beautiful film to stand alongside a beautiful book.”