“Hunger Games” Sequel “Catching Fire” Hits Theaters November 2013
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Lionsgate Films(LOS ANGELES) — Fans of The Hunger Games will have to wait until next year to find out what happens onscreen to Katniss as she heads back to District 12 a champion. Lionsgate says Catching Fire, the sequel to the hit movie, will arrive in theaters on Nov. 22, 2013.
Catching Fire, based on Suzanne Collins’ 2009 bestselling sequel, picks up where The Hunger Games left off with a rebellion brewing in the Capitol. To quell the uprising, Katniss and fellow tribute Peeta Mellark must return for a special edition of The Hunger Games.
Francis Lawrence, whose credits include I Am Legend and Water for Elephants, signed on to direct the sequel after Hunger Games‘ director Gary Ross backed out of the film.
“It is truly an honor and a privilege to bring Catching Fire, the second chapter of Suzanne’s beloved trilogy, to the big screen,” Lawrence said. “I fell in love with the characters, the themes and the world she created and this chapter opens all of these elements up in such a thrilling, emotional and surprising way.”
Ross passed on the chance to direct the sequel because he felt the production schedule was too tight. “As a writer and a director, 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,” he said in a statement released by Lionsgate.
All of the film’s stars, including Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson and Liam Hemsworth, are set to return for the sequel.
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