After Gary Ross decided not to return to direct The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, having taken the first film to mammoth successes this year, we soon heard that Francis Lawrence (I Am Legend) would be stepping in to helm the sequel.
With The Hunger Games: Catching Fire set to light up the box office next autumn, Collider report that Lawrence will return at the helm to see the franchise through to conclusion, directing the two-part final film, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay.
Jennifer Lawrence is of course reprising her leading role as Katniss Everdeen in Catching Fire, alongside the brilliant ensemble of Liam Hemsworth, Elizabeth Banks, Josh Hutcherson, Woody Harrelson, Stanley Tucci, Donald Sutherland, and more, with the excellent Jena Malone topping the list of new additions to the cast.
And unless anything dramatic changes between now and then, we can expect the leading cast to return in their entirety for Mockingjay.
Courtesy of Waterstones, here’s the synopsis for the final novel in Suzanne Collins’ original trilogy:
“This is the final book in the ground-breaking “Hunger Games” trilogy. Against all odds, Katniss Everdeen has survived the Hunger Games twice. But now that she’s made it out of the bloody arena alive, she’s still not safe. The Capitol is angry. The Capitol wants revenge. Who do they think should pay for the unrest? Katniss. And what’ worse, President Snow has made it clear that no one else is safe either. Not Katniss’ family, not her friends, not the people of District 12.”
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire is set for release on 22nd November, 2013. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 will follow a year later on 21st November, 2014, and The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 set to finish the franchise on 20th November, 2015.
