The Hunger Games Director Explains Why He Didn't Return For Catching Fire
The director of The Hunger Games, Gary Ross, recently revealed why he did not direct the subsequent movies in the franchise. 2022 marks the ten-year anniversary of the release of The Hunger Games. The film had an immediate widespread cultural impact that still reverberates today. In the decade that followed its premiere, Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, and Liam Hemsworth rose to stardom, many other dystopian YA book adaptation franchises were launched, and references from the movie became ubiquitous.
Following the release of The Hunger Games in 2012, three other movies in the franchise were released: The Hunger Games: Catching Fire,The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1, and The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2. While Ross directed the first movie, Francis Lawrence (also known for Water for Elephants and Red Sparrow) directed the following three movies. They were released on a tight schedule, with one movie coming out each year. When fans found out Catching Fire was directed by someone other than Ross, many were surprised, especially since he expressed interest in being involved with Catching Fire soon after The Hunger Games was released.
Related: Hunger Games: Why Madge Gave Katniss The Mockingjay Pin
In an interview with THRcelebrating The Hunger Games’ tenth anniversary, Ross confirmed that the reason for his departure from the franchise was scheduling. Given the quick turnaround the studio presented him with, he didn’t feel he had enough time to create a quality movie that honored his creative vision. He was given less than four months to both write and direct Catching Fire, which in movie terms, is not very much time at all. Read Ross' full quote below:
“I think what people didn’t realize is that I had two jobs. I
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