Earlier this month, we told you that The Weinstein Company had acquired the rights to Timur Bekmambetov‘s (The Darkest Hour) latest project, entitled Apollo 18. The films plot revolves around recently “found footage” shot by the crew of an abandoned moon mission that NASA claims never took place in the early 1970s. The lost footage reveals the existence of alien life and explains why NASA has hidden the evidence for all of these years.

At the time, Bekmambetov was set to serve as producer of the sci-fi thriller, and a script written by Brian Miller was to be directed by Trevor Cawood. Now, THR reports that Gonzalo López-Gallego (La piel azul) is taking over directorial duties from visual effects guru Trevor Cawood on Apollo 18.

No explanation was given for the departure of Cawood, who would have made his directorial feature debut with Apollo 18, after working on visual effects for projects like Dark Angel and The Matrix Reloaded since 1996.

Apollo 18 is slated to hit theaters on March 4th, 2011.