It seems impossible these days for a film franchise to keep its cast intact for a full run. This time it’s the Twilight series that has succumbed to the switcheroo game, as Bryce Dallas Howard was announced to be taking over Rachel Lefevre’s character, “Victoria,” as of the third film, Eclipse. This sort of thing nearly happened before for the Twilight series when Taylor Lautner came close to being fired from the part of “Jacob” after the first film, because he wasn’t seen as a strong or fit enough actor for the demands of the role in New Moon.

With this news, Howard cements herself as the official go-to actress for filling in vacated roles. In the past she has been a substitute in Lars von Trier’s USA - Land of Opportunities trilogy, taking on the lead role “Grace” originated by Nicole Kidman in Dogville for the sequel Manderlay, and she more recently filled in for a non-returning Claire Danes as “Kate” in the Terminator franchise (for which she also replaced the first-choice substitute, Charlotte Gainsbourg) Also, let’s not forget that she replaced Kirsten Dunst as the lead in M. Night Shyamalan’s The Village, when Dunst departed to make Elizabethtown.

With the way things are going for her, I predict she’ll be taking over as “Ginny Weasley” in the second part of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, “Black Widow” in Iron Man 3 or The Avengers, “Rachel Dawson” in the next Batman film and “Kumar” in A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas.

Let’s take a look at what the rest of the film blogs are saying about the substitution after the jump:

• Amos Barshad at Vulture suspects Summit did to Lefevre what they tried to do to Lautner:
  

  The official word is that there’s a scheduling conflict with Barney’s Version, an indie drama Lefevre recently signed on for, but we think we know what’s really going on — Lefevre, ultimately, just wasn’t hunky enough.

• Vince Mancini at FilmDrunk also doubts the official reason for Lefevre’s departure:
  

  Uh huh, scheduling, suuure.  Just like when my girlfriend dumped me for a hotter dude - our schedules just didn’t match up!  Relationships are so complicated!

• Rob Hunter at Film School Rejects will likely support any online petition that may have been started today:
  

  Howard doesn’t have the spunk and gusto necessary to bring this hellion to life.  And the worst part about it is she’s nowhere’s near as cute as Lefevre!  So start your screaming and yelling now people… save Victoria!

• Rodney at The Movie Blog is also upset to see Lefevre leave:
  

  But I was itching to see more of Rachelle Lefevre in the role. She is seductively sexy and when reading the books, it is her face I see (thanks to the film of course) so replacing her with Bryce Dallas Howard (also a beautiful woman) just seems awkward. Maybe I just have to see her done up like Victoria. Any cast replacement is subject to a state of transition.

• Adam Rosenberg at MTV Movies Blog brings up the usual annoyance of re-cast roles, which Josh Wigler later elaborates on with an obligatory list of such switches.
  

  There’s an old saying that goes “don’t change horses in midstream.” Never is this more true than when you’re talking about major Hollywood franchises. Rabid fans become comfortable with a long-running series’ established mythology, and it’s jarring to see a new face operating under a familiar name.

• S.T. VanAirsdale at Movieline references one of Howard’s previous fill-ins while offering a warning:
  

  Bryce, watch yourself; these fans are much less forgiving than the ones who shrugged when you stepped in for Nicole Kidman in the sequel to Dogville.

• Chris Hewitt at Empire makes both an obscure British music reference and an old sports reference while additionally commenting on Howard’s official position in Hollywood. Wonder if any of the fans have any clue:
  

  Howard is fast becoming Hollywood’s equivalent of Liverpool legend, David Fairclough, a ginger-haired supersub called upon to replace original selections. Just this summer, after all, she starred in Terminator Salvation as Kate Connor, a role first played by Claire Danes in Terminator 3: Rise Of The Machines…So, now Howard steps in, and we’re sure she’ll do a bang-up job. In fact, this could be her version of David Fairclough’s winner against St. Etienne in the 1977 European Cup quarter-finals.

• Kevin Coll at Fused Film is now more interested in Twilight thanks to Howard’s involvement:
  

  I think Howard is ver talented and may prove to be better in this role than Rachelle. I an glad they picked her up and sort of makes Twilight worth watching for me.

• Michelle Welch at A.V. Club likes Howard but sees this as yet another film she’s too good for:
  

  Bryce Dallas Howard, a ruby discovered amidst the rubble that was M. Night Shyamalan’s The Village and Lady In The Water, is set to join the cast of yet another blockbuster franchise of dubious quality. After her small roles in Sam Raimi’s Hollywood prank of a film Spider-Man 3 and the more recent Terminator: Salvation, Howard has been confirmed as the female villain in Eclipse, the third film in the Twilight series.

• Monika Bartyzel at Cinematical also acknowledges Howard’s tradition of being in bad movies:
  

  And what about Howard? Is she a good replacement? She’s got a whole different look than Lefevre, so we can surely expect to see a whole different kind of VIctoria. Let’s just hope that Eclipse does better than Howard’s other recent blockbusters — Spider-Man 3 and Terminator Salvation. Or, well, a lot of her other work, for that matter.

• Dustin Rowles at Pajiba recognizes Howard’s disappointing career, as well:
  

  Bryce Dallas Howard, who has a tendency to be the best part of bad movies (Terminator Salvation, Lady in the Water) looks to repeat that trend…whatever you think of crappy, sparkly vampires, Mrs. Howard actually would make a stellar vampire. She’s pretty, but she also gives me the willies, a lot like Samantha Morton.

• Katey Rich at Cinema Blend wonders if Howard had to take a pay cut, and if her resume and reputation have finally caught up with her to make her so desperate:
  

  Howard, though not as big a name as she was back in the Village days, is fairly well-known in her own right. Is she just such a big Twilight fan that she was willing to take the gig for no money? Or did Terminator: Salvation hurt her career more than we thought?

• Mandi Bierly at Entertainment Weekly’s PopWatch isn’t bothered by the change:
  

  Maybe it’s because I enjoyed the books more than the first film, and still, when I picture the characters in my mind, don’t actually see the actors. I envision something more like the sketches from a-ha’s “Take On Me” video, and they’re in erasable ink so I can tweak them page-to-page, moment-to-moment. Perhaps I’ll grow more attached to the cast after The Twilight Saga: New Moon hits theaters (especially if its script is better than the first film’s), but at this point, the only supporting player I’d be seriously bummed by Summit replacing would be Billy Burke.

• Mark at I Watch Stuff isn’t bothered either, but for a different reason:
  

  This is like finding out the Copy Center girl at Staples won’t be in today. “Cathy’s sick!? Oh, man, who’s going to unlock the case to get people their ink cartridges?!” What do I care?

• David Poland at The Hot Blog once again hypocritically posts on a topic he complains is being over-covered before commenting on the Howard hiring:
  

  Bryce Dallas Howard… lovely woman… decent actress… but isn’t worth a thin dime at the box office… not a slam on her at all… just the facts. And it’s exactly the kind of stunting that shows some trouble coming in the future of the franchise. First they got rid of the wacky, but successful Catherine Hardwicke for a more stable presence in Chris Weitz. Now upscaling cast.. but on the relative cheap. (Is Claire Danes next?) A namier director is probably next… and more effects.