Catherine Hardwicke brought Stephenie Meyer’s “Twilight,” the first in her vampire love series of novels, to the big screen with great success and her replacement with Chris Weitz for the following installment has apparently caused a bit of discomfort among fans.

Catherine Hardwicke has got a legion of fans on her side, completely happy with the way she has adapted Stephenie Meyer’s best-selling young adult novel “Twilight” for the big screen. Their expressed adoration stands proof, as well as the massive box office success.

Hardwicke now holds the record for the biggest opening weekend for a female director, with $70.6 million, having outdone Mimi Leder and her $41.1 million opening weekend for 1998’s “Deep Impact.”

Summit Entertainment announced last week that Hardwicke would not direct the sequel, titled “New Moon” and a few days later, Chris Weitz was named helmer of the next installment through a post on Meyer’s website.

Accompanying her announcement was a letter from Weitz himself, who promised worried fans that he would take their hopes and fears into consideration when making “New Moon” and expressed his yearning to live up to their expectations.

He has a strong supporter in Meyer, who humorously appeased fans that “torches and pitchforks” would not be necessary as Weitz joins the “Twilight” community.

She names his film “About a Boy,” based on a novel by Nick Hornby, which earned the director and co-scripters Paul Weitz and Peter Hedges an Academy Award nomination for best-adapted screenplay, one of her favorite movies of all time.

Weitz has also directed “American Pie” and the more recent “The Golden Compass,” starring Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig.

“Twilight” tells the love story between teenage girl Bella Swan, portrayed by Kristen Stewart and Edward Cullen, played by Robert Pattinson, a handsome “vegetarian” vampire who has not aged since 1918.