Well, we kind of saw it coming. The Twilight Movie crew has been cagey in interviews about who will be behind the next movie, and ironically the huge box office results turned out to be bad news for director Catherine Hardwicke. The fans may have been happy, but the critics were not, and thus Hardwicke will be replaced for the big-budget sequel to Twilight. Reuters reports that–

Hardwicke had until recently been thought a candidate to direct the sequel, titled “New Moon,” but word began to circulate in the industry that her relationship with series producer Summit Entertainment has not always been smooth.

On Sunday, Summit confirmed that Hardwicke would not direct the film, saying in a statement that its plans to release the film in late 2009 or early 2010 did not mesh with Hardwicke’s required prep time.

The picture, whose start date has not yet been set, will nontheless reunite writer Melissa Rosenberg and actors Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart. Summit has not named a new director, but it is likely to want to move relatively quickly on the sequel after the original earned nearly $139 million in three weeks of release.

Hardwicke had initially been considered a bold choice for “Twilight.” She made her name with indie breakout “Thirteen” and also directed the period religious tale “The Nativity Story.” The combination proved winning, though, as the midrange-budgeted “Twilight” became one of the fall’s biggest hits.

So is this good news or bad news for the series? As we mentioned recently, there are several other female directors that would be perfect for the New Moon movie .