Dakota Fanning may be taking the lead role in Summit Entertainment’s If I Stay for Catherine Hardwicke, the director who started the Twilight saga that now generates paychecks for Fanning.

Pajiba’s source says the 15-year-old actress is in negotiations to star as Mia Hill, a young woman who gets into a car accident and goes through an out of body experience while in a coma.

I think if I was flying around outside my chiseled exterior, I’d go get into trouble, because who’s going to know and, if they somehow could, I have the perfect alibi. “What do you mean I learned something I shouldn’t? I was in a coma!”

While the studio replaced Hardwicke for the supposedly larger scale Twilight Saga: New Moon, they’re still in business with her for this film… for now. Hardwicke is attached to a multitude of movies, including this, Maximum Ride, a possible feature film version of “21 Jump Street,” a re-imaging of Red Riding Hood, and Hamlet with Emile Hirsch. Summit wants to put this in production as early as summer 2010, so Hardwicke will direct depending on availability.

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