Oscar Winning Screenwriter Hired for Hunger Games Sequel
Posted 11.17.11 by Ryan
Lionsgate has put a lot of faith in The Hunger Games franchise. Before the first installment even released its first trailer, the studio had set a November 22, 2013 release date for the second installment, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, and recently admitting that they would be "disappointed if we didn’t make three or four movies."
With the first trailer for Hunger Games now online, Lionsgate is already moving forward with Catching Fire. Deadline reports that Academy Award–winning Simon Beaufoy (Slumdog Millionaire) has been hired to write the script for the second installment, which will be based on the novel of the same name by Suzanne Collins. The report claims that Hunger Games director Gary Ross was going to write the outline for Catching Fire but couldn't make it due to the post-production schedule for The Hunger Games. Reportedly, Ross will be back to helm the sequel.
The Hunger Games was adapted by Billy Ray (State of Play) and Collins, and looks to be a big hit when it opens on March 23, 2012. The cast includes Jennifer Lawrence as lead character Katniss Everdeen, Liam Hemsworth as Gale Hawthorne, Josh Hutcherson as Peeta Mallark, Woody Harrelson as Haysmith Abernathy, Stanley Tucci as Caesar Flickerman, Wes Bentley as Seneca Crane, Elizabeth Banks as plays Effie Trinket, Lenny Kravitz as Cinna, Willow Shield as Primrose), Paula Malcomson as the mother to Katniss and Primrose, and Donald Sutherland as President Snow.