Robert Pattinson's new role as Hollywood's most wanted heartthrob is restricting his screen career - he has been forced to pull out of a new independent film to star in Twilight sequel New Moon.

The British hunk has enjoyed a meteoric rise to stardom since he played the romantic lead in the vampire love-story - which became one of 2008's biggest box office hits.

Studio bosses were eager to sign the star up for a sequel immediately - reportedly offering Pattinson a multi-million deal to tie him into future big screen adaptations of the Stephanie Meyer's cult series of books.

But Pattinson's recurring role in the franchise's next outing New Moon means he won't have time to star in eagerly awaited film Parts Per Billion, which co-stars and is produced by actress Rosario Dawson.

He was scheduled to shoot the movie in early 2009, but studio executives are keen to start the cameras rolling on New Moon in a bid to ride on the success of Twilight. The movie is slated for a 2010 release.

A representative for the actor tells MTV.com, "Unfortunately, the prep time and production schedule on New Moon haven't left enough time for Robert to work on Parts Per Billion in the first quarter of this year."