Francis Lawrence Chosen to Direct Hunger Games Sequel, Catching Fire

Posted on April 20, 2012

Well, that didn't take long Lionsgate has chosen Francis Lawrence to direct Catching Fire, the sequel to The Hunger Games which starred Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen and Josh Hutcherson as Peeta Mellark.

Lawrence is replacing Gary Ross who says he left the project because of the tight shooting schedule (other rumors say he had a money dispute with the studio, although Ross denies this.)

Lawrence directed Water For Elephants which starred Reese Witherspoon and Robert Pattinson, I Am Legend which starred Will Smith and Constantine which starred Keanu Reeves. He got his start directing music videos for Aerosmith, Green Day, Britney Spears and Jennifer Lopez.

We'll be interested to see how he interprets Catching Fire. Lawrence is a well-rounded director who is good with action scenes, pacing and with emotional scenes, so we think he'll do a great job.