It was expected that The Hunger Games would be a very successful movie and, once the film proved to be so, raking in an impressive $693m worldwide. That meant that the following book Catching Fire would definitely be made and everyone assumed that director Gary Ross would return for the sequel.
The Hunger Games director Gary Ross
However, Gary dropped a bomb shell and announced that he would be walking away from the franchise, leaving fans worrying what would happen. Francis Lawrence was then brought on board and has been directing Catching Fire and actor Stanley Tucci says he has maintained the integrity of The Hunger Games.
Tucci said, "Gary, I think, did an amazing job on the first movie. They're very different directors but I think Francis is maintaining, without question, the integrity of those characters and being true to the book… He's a very wonderful director… Gary is very talkative, garrulous, gregarious, and Francis is very quiet."
Catching Fire director Francis Lawrence
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire will see the return of the three stars of the movies Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson and Liam Hemsworth and is set to hit the big screen on November 22 in both the US and the UK.
The Hunger Games clip
