If I thought that Summit was ever going to let a director do even as much with a Twilight movie as Alfonso Cuaron was able to do with his Harry Potter film, it would be easier to root for the idea of interesting directors landing jobs helming the third and (theoretical) fourth films.

But as is, this really looks like pure work for hire. Eclipse, aka Twilight 3, will start shooting before the end of this year, which leaves little time for anything but regurgitation. If Summit wanted Drew Barrymore to helm, OK, fine. But Nikki Finke reports and EW confirms that David Slade is now in talks for the third film. Slade directed Hard Candy and 30 Days of Night; I want to see him have the chance to tackle something where he can indulge his socially unacceptable impulses. And while making a Twilight movie should soon be a mark in the socially unacceptable column, that’s not exactly what I had in mind.

And just based on what I know of the fourth book (and what Devin just recapped) I’d much rather see Slade on the fourth film, assuming he’s got to crawl in the Twilight trenches at all. He’d knock that Bella/Edward love scene out of the park in the best way.