Chris Weitz, who directed sci-fi fantasy film The Golden Compass, is to continue in the fantasy vein by taking on the second film in the Twilight series.

Weitz will direct New Moon, which is scheduled for release in late 2009 or 2010.

Catherine Hardwicke, director of the hit film Twilight, announced last week that she would not helm the second film because it conflicted with other projects.

Twilight, based on the books by Stephanie Meyer, had the biggest opening weekend of any film directed by a woman.

Teen loner Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart, right) falls under the spell of the mysterious Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson). (Summit Entertainment) Fans were disappointed Hardwicke was not continuing with the series, as she is thought to have cast well and created the right look and tone for the vampire series.

Weitz has also directed About a Boy, Down to Earth and American Pie.

While Twilight is a romance between a young girl called Bella and a dashing vampire, New Moon shows Bella in a new relationship with a werewolf.

In a posting on Meyer's website, Weitz hastened to assure fans he would make "the very best and most faithful version of New Moon that can be brought to the screen."

"For the last decade of my career as a director, I have chosen to make adaptations of complex and involved works of literature," he says in the posting. "This has always begun with love of a book and its characters, story and theme and it has always involved a respect of and responsiveness to the feelings of other people who loved those books."

Summit Entertainment, which produced the first film, wooed Weitz to direct New Moon.