Will he or won’t he? It appears he won’t.
Director Gary Ross will not return to direct Catching Fire, the next installment in The Hunger Games franchise.
Ross and Lionsgate were engaged in public negotiations over whether or not Ross would direct the next installment.
“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,” Ross said in a statement.
Lionsgate also issued a statement addressing Ross’ departure: “We’re very sorry that Gary Ross has chosen not to direct Catching Fire. We were really looking forward to making the movie with him. He did an incredible job on the first film and we are grateful for his work. This will not be the end of our relationship, as we consider Ross to be part of the Lionsgate family and look forward to working with him in the future.”
Be interesting to see who they get to replace him…definitely be a lot of pressure considering the hit the first film is.