The release date for the much-anticipated romance thriller Twilight has been moved up; previously scheduled for December 12, 2008, the film will now debut on Friday, November 21, 2008.

"When Warner Bros. decided to move Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince to the summer of 2009, we saw a unique opportunity to slot in our film which has been gaining tremendous awareness and momentum over the past several months," said Rob Friedman, Co-Chairman and CEO of Summit Entertainment. "We by no means are trying to fill the shoes of the incredible Potter franchise for 2008, rather we are just looking to bring the fans of Stephenie Meyer's incredible book series the film as soon possible from a programming perspective."

Starring Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart, the film is directed by Catherine Hardwicke from a script by Melissa Rosenberg (Step Up). Karen Rosenfelt (The Devil Wears Prada), Greg Mooradian and Wyck Godfrey will produce along with Mark Morgan via his Maverick Films banner.

Twilight tells the story of 17-year-old Bella Swan (Stewart) who moves to the small town of Forks, Washington to live with her father, and becomes drawn to Edward Cullen (Pattinson), a pale, mysterious classmate who seems determined to push her away. But neither can deny the attraction that pulls them together ... even when Edward confides that he and his family are vampires. Their unorthodox romance puts her in physical danger when Edward's nemesis comes to town and sets his sights on Bella.