There are some bullish announcements being made in Hollywood right now. Last weekend saw Sony announce a release date for The Amazing Spider-Man 2 , and now Lionsgate have repeated the trick by announcing the arrival of The Hunger Games sequel Catching Fire on 22 November 2013.
Bearing in mind the first film hasn’t even finished shooting, it’s a confident move on the part of the studio, although given the huge popularity of the books, they’re probably reasoning their built-in audience will turn out for the sequel regardless of how well the original is received.
Lionsgate COO Joe Drake gave an accompanying statement hyping up the studio’s excitement in the project with the usual PR flannel.
“The magical thing about the The Hunger Games trilogy is that the books have such a vastly broad appeal,” he burbles. “The stories truly offer something for everyone, and the period around the Thanksgiving weekend is an opportunity for families and friends to make an event of going to the movies.”
The first film, simply entitled The Hunger Games , will arrive on 23 March next year, with filming soon set to wrap on the Jennifer Lawrence-starring adventure. Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks, Toby Jones, Stanley Tucci and Donald Sutherland are just some of the big names set to flesh out an exciting supporting cast.
The trilogy is set in a post-apocalyptic version of America, in which the ruling government selects a boy and girl from each of the country’s districts to participate in a brutal survival event known as The Hunger Games.
No word as yet on the future of director Gary Ross, and one suspects that, had Lionsgate decided to retain him for part two, they probably would have announced it. Better make this one count then Gary… no pressure.
Source: Variety
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