As Juliet once said to Romeo: A rose by any other name would smell as sweet. Now, modern-day star crossed lovers Bella Swan and Edward Cullen are getting ready to carry on with their cinematic love affair. But will the second “Twilight” movie smell as sweet now that it has a brand-new name?

MTV News has the scoop on the official name and logo for Chris Weitz’s soon-to-film sequel to “Twilight.” Dubbed “The Twilight Saga’s New Moon,” the film’s official title art stays true to the look of the first movie while swapping in an orange tint, a subtle crescent moon, and the release date of 11.20.09.

Although the look of the new logo will undoubtedly get Twilighter tongues wagging, it’s the five-word official title that is the most prominent variation from Stephenie Meyer’s simple “New Moon.”

With roman numerals now considered taboo in Hollywood, and sequel names like “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen,” “Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer” and “Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li” in vogue, it makes sense that Weitz and crew would label the future films as “The Twilight Saga.” At the risk of reading too much into five words, it also seems to imply that “New Moon” will boast a more epic feel than the first movie.

As for the logo itself, Weitz has chosen to stay with the lowercase lettering, personable font and light-streaks-poking-through look of last year’s hit film. In switching from blue to orange, the movie’s upcoming posters will be instantly distinguishable from those of the original “Twilight” – which should make them look a whole lot cooler when teenage girls all over the world add them to their walls. The presence of orange also begs a new question: Now that blue and orange are taken, which colors should be used for “Eclipse” and “Breaking Dawn”?

It’s one of the most anticipated movies of the year. It’s the next installment in a worldwide phenomenon. And now, it’s called “The Twilight Saga’s New Moon.” Stay tuned, Twilighters, as MTV will continue to bring you all the latest news from now until November.

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While NEW MOON hasn’t even gone behind cameras yet, Summit Entertainment is already prepping the third installment in the TWILIGHT franchise, Eclipse. While an interview with producers Rob Friedman and Patrick Wachsberger over at THR indicates that they might like a new director for each film, Variety has posted some possible contenders. You can read all about it inside.

Via Variety:

“Don’t believe everything you hear about Twilight and its sequels. Things are heating up already on the third installment, Eclipse. They haven’t even started the second one yet, New Moon. When you’ve got a robust franchise, filmmakers are eager to get on board. Word is, the Spanish director of The Orphanage, Juan Antonio Bayona, and 3:10 to Yuma helmer James Mangold are both circling the project, but Summit insists that no meetings are scheduled as yet. Both would be strong choices.

As to the last two unfilled roles in New Moon, vampires Jane and Aro, no offers have yet gone out, despite what you may have read. And the role of Leah Clearwater isn’t being filled, because according to writer Melissa Rosenberg, she isn’t in the script!”

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Catherine Hardwicke delivered the biggest opening weekend ever for a female film director—not to mention Robert Pattinson to the screaming fans—but it doesn’t look like she’ll be getting the chance to top that record with the next Twilight film.

The helmer has parted ways with the series. The story broke today on Nikki Finke’s Deadline Hollywood Daily, and by Sunday night Variety had a statement from the director.

“I am sorry that due to timing I will not have the opportunity to direct New Moon,” said Hardwicke. “Directing Twilight has been one of the great experiences of my life, and I am grateful to the fans for their passionate support of the film. I wish everyone at Summit the best with the sequel—it is a great story.”

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EXCLUSIVE: So the rumors are true. I’ve confirmed that Summit Entertainment is taking Twilight director Catherine Hardwicke off the sequel in this big new franchise. No doubt my news will speed up the studio’s announcement, and Summit will surely scramble to spin this as all going down amicably along the lines that she “couldn’t fit the film into her time frame”. But this terrible news for Hardwicke comes just as she and the Twilight cast are on their European press tour. No doubt, tomorrow’s interviews in France will now focus entirely on what, if anything, Catherine did to deserve this treatment. This also could blow up into a scandal for Summit if it chooses a male director over Hardwicke, whose Twilight easily beat Mimi Leder’s 1998 Deep Impact box office gross as the biggest opener for a female director. That was a record embraced by Hollywood feminists as a sign of growing gal power. Now Hardwicke’s career will surely be damaged by this very public firing because, even though the pic was skewered by critics, it is already a $160M low-cost blockbuster. Summit has started preparing the sequel New Moon, based on Meyer’s second book in the series, and, to contain costs, the studio is considering making third book Eclipse back to back).

The word from inside Summit is that Hardwicke, the acclaimed Thirteen director, “was ‘difficult’ and ‘irrational’ during the making of Twilight,” one insider explains to me. “That doesn’t mean anything when you’re talking about a filmmaker because they all are, but still…” (Indeed, Joe Roth and Sony kept saying those things about Julie Taymor on Across The Universe. Yet she made a cult classic and is now directing Marvel/Sony’s Spider-Man for Broadway.) From another of my sources, “Summit didn’t like her. They’re saying the DP [director of photography] Elliot Davis is the one responsible for the film’s sumptuous visual look, that the editor Nancy Richardson had to save the film in post-production, and Summit thought Hardwicke’s [CAA] agent Beth Swofford was alternately ineffectual and hysterical [when it came to controlling her client].”

In fact, I’m told that the studio has even had quiet talks with other CAA directors for the last week. “And Swofford never told Hardwicke about that and that she was about to get kicked to the gutter,” an insider tells me. “To add insult to injury, Hardwicke can now look forward to being grilled by the press for days on end, in front of the cast, about why she’s getting shit-canned.”

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Fresh from a massive opening day for “Twilight,” Summit Entertainment has officially greenlit a “New Moon” sequel.

Summit made the widely expected announcement Saturday morning. “Twilight” generated first-day grosses of $35.7 million from 3,419 playdates on Friday — including $7 million from Thursday midnight shows.

The vampire thriller’s a ready-made franchise for Summit with four books in Stephenie Meyer’s series, which have sold more than 17 million copies worldwide.

“New Moon” is the second title in the series and is centered on Edward Cullen leaving Bella Swan in order to keep her safe from other vampires. Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart play the leads in the film.

“I don’t think any other author has had a more positive experience with the makers of her movie adaptation than I have had with Summit Entertainment,” Meyer said in a statement.

“Twilight” had been expected to open in the $50 million to $60 million range, although it looks likely to end up above that.

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