Heat Vision Blog reports that Gonzalo López-Gallego is taking over directorial duties on Apollo 18.

Special effects guru Trevor Cawood was attached to direct the project when it was first reported a few weeks ago, which would have marked his directorial debut. No official reason was given for the directorial switch, although it was speculated that the rapid pace of the production could be a factor.

Apollo 18 already has a March 4, 2011 release date set, which is just over three months from now. Brian Miller wrote the script which Gonzalo López-Gallego will direct from, with Timur Bekmambetov producing.

The "found footage" movie supposedly takes place during the Apollo 18 moon mission, where astronauts discover alien life forms on the moon. The thriller was said to primarily take place inside a space shuttle between the Earth and the moon.