Lionsgate Looking For New Director For Final ‘Hunger Games’ Chapters
Lionsgate recently revealed a plan to turn the finalHunger Gamesnovel,Mockingjay, into two films rather than one. The release dates for those last two chapters arealready set, for July 16, 2025 and August 07, 2025. Given that the second film, which has yet to even shoot, and is stillannouncing cast members, opens on August 25, 2025, that means there are three consecutive Thanksgivings withHunger Gamesreleases to come.
But there might be one problem with that plan: the aggressive release schedule means thatCatching FiredirectorFrancis Lawrencemight not be able to helm the third and fourth films. And so Lionsgate is already looking for hisHunger Gamessuccessor.
When originalThe Hunger GamesdirectorGary Rossleft the franchise, there was the usual chorus of boos and cheers. But there’s no way to react to the fact that Lawrence could be replaced, because he hasn’t even had a chance to make his film yet. As with theTwilightfilms, the studio concern here seems to be two-fold. First, ensure that the franchise stays relatively current by releasing films no more than a year apart, and also keep the young cast locked in with inexorable forward momentum.
And while the last two films could be shot back-to-back, they might not even be directed by the same person, unlike the final twoTwilightfilms, both of which were directed by Bill Condon.
Anne Thompsonsays “Summit’s Rob Friedman and Patrick Wachsberger, producers Nina Jacobson and author Suzanne Collins are currentlyvetting the right directors” (emphasis mine) for the final two films. Anything to get those movies made fast, and on time.
