Mostly, it is odd to green light a sequel before the original has come out, but if you have read The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, they you can see why its not so strange after all. Lionsgate has jumped on the obvious hit series to go ahead and green light the sequel, which really means the whole trilogy will most likely be adapted.
Lionsgate has already announced the release date for the sequel,Catching Fire. The date has been set for November 22, 2013, and now, The Wrap’s “Deal Central” reports that Oscar-winning screenwriter Simon Beaufoy, who previously worked on Slumdog Millionaire was hired to write the adaptation for Collins’ second book.
It was also reported that Gary Ross who co-wrote and directed The Hunger Games, the first book of the series and the upcoming film, is overseeing Beaufoy’s work and has been confirmed to return as director for the sequel. It has also been confirmed that four of the cast–Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Woody Harrelson and Liam Hensworth–will also be returning for the sequel.
Here is the mega- cast list for the film:
- Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen
- Josh Hutcherson as Peeta Mellark
- Woody Harrelson as Haymitch Abernathy
- Willow Shields as Primrose Everdeen
- Liam Hemsworth as Gale Hawthorne
- Elizabeth Banks as Effie Trinket
- Lenny Kravitz as Cinna
- Paula Malcomson as Mrs. Everdeen
- Amandla Stenberg as Rue
- Alexander Ludwig as Cato
- Dayo Okeniyi as Thresh
- Isabelle Fuhrman as Clove
- Jacqueline Emerson as Foxface
- Leven Rambin as Glimmer
- Jack Quaid as Marvel
- Donald Sutherland as President Snow
- Stanley Tucci as Caesar Flickerman
- Wes Bentley as Seneca Crane
- Latarsha Rose as Portia
The Hunger Games is out on March 23 and now it looks like its sequel Catching Fire is still on track for its planned release date of November 22, 2013.
I think it was a smart move for Lionsgate to go ahead and start production on the second film, if you have watched the trailer for the film you can tell it is going to be a hit. The film looks amazing and the books were phenomenal. Lionsgate definitely knows what it is doing by green lighting this project.
You can watch the trailer below and see how awesome it looks: