If you're Lionsgate and you just spent over $400M to buy Summit, you have to be tinkled pink at the prospect of having the two biggest tween franchises under the same banner. Twilight may be wrapping up, but there's a good chance it'll continue in some form. And The Hunger Games, while probably not quite on the same level as those glittery bloodsuckers, is poised to take over the top spot starting on March 23rd.
A couple of months ago we learned that Lionsgate wanted to get the ball rolling on Catching Fire, the second novel in Suzanne Collins' trilogy, and were looking at Simon Beaufoy to take over the script. The Wrap now confirms Beaufoy has begun work on the adaptation, which already has a release date nailed for November 22nd 2013. Gary Ross, who directed The Hunger Games and co-wrote the script alongside Collins, has been confirmed to return. In less surprising and slightly spoilery news, Josh Hutcherson, Jennifer Lawrence, Woody Harrelson, and Liam Hemsworth will all be back.
Beaufoy is a frequent collaborator with Danny Boyle, having written both Slumdog Millionaire and 127 Hours. So yeah, he's pretty good. Ross will be overseeing his work on the script, but to what degree he'll have input is unclear.
I'm not going to dive into the plot of Catching Fire, since it gives away some key plot points. I'll just say that the world of Panem is expanded to a considerable degree, and we find out there's a lot more going on than just the tournament.
