Hunger Games Director Turns Down Sequel

Bloomberg reports that Gary Ross, director and co-writer of Lions Gate Entertainment Corporations' LGF The Hunger Games, has officially passed on the sequel Catching Fire, casting some doubt on the future of a movie franchise-to-be that has already earned $464 million in ticket sales with only one installment. Ross had been in talks to write and direct Catching Fire, the second of three or four planned films based on the trilogy of novels by Suzanne Collins. The director cited time constraints as the reason for his decision. Yesterday, in a joint statement with Lions Gate, Ross said “I simply don't have the time I need to write and prep the movie I would have wanted to make because of the fixed and tight production schedule.” Julie Fontaine, a spokeswoman for Lions Gate, said “We're very sorry that Gary Ross has chosen not to direct Catching Fire. We were really looking forward to making the movie with him. He did an incredible job on the first film and we are grateful for his work,” but did not say anything beyond that statement. With Ross' departure, Lions Gate is left having to replace their new franchise's creative leader just as pre-production is starting to gear up on the second movie. The studio has not addressed the time frame for choosing a new director, or commented on whether the change will affect the scheduled November 22, 2013 release date for Catching Fire. The principal cast have signed to complete the entire series of three or four films, including Jennifer Lawrence (Katniss Everdeen), Josh Hutcherson (Peeta Mellark), and Liam Hemsworth (Gale Hawthorne). Film fans will have to wait and see how Ross' exit might affect the quality of Catching Fire and Mockingjay. The track record is mixed for movie trilogies that change directors between entries. On the positive side, when Doug Liman left the Jason Bourne series he'd started with 2002's The Bourne Identity, the series went on to even greater success with 2004's The Bourne Supremacy and 2007's The Bourne Ultimatum, both directed by Paul Greengrass. But on the other hand, after Bryan Singer directed 2000's X-Men and 2003's X2, Brett Ratner took over for 2006's X-Men: The Last Stand, which both critics and fans saw as a letdown. Of course, the continued presence of a single helmer in a trilogy is no guarantee of quality - 2007's Spider-Man 3 was widely considered a big disappointment compared to the first two films, despite Sam Raimi having the director's chair on all three.