Francis Lawrence set to direct rest of Hunger Games series

Good news for Hunger Games fans this morning, with Catching Fire director Francis Lawrence confirmed to take the helm for the remainder of the series, in the form of the two-part Mockingjay adaptation.

It had previously appeared that Lawrence would only be in place for Catching Fire , with the series’ ultra-tight release schedule producing some unwelcome crossover between post-production on the second film and pre-production on the third.

However, it seems that Lawrence is happy to immerse himself in the world of Panem for the duration, with the director set to begin work on the series finale as soon as he wraps on Catching Fire .

Gary Ross, director of the first film, had initially passed on directing Catching Fire because he felt the schedule was too tight to do the film justice. Lawrence appears to have found a way around those concerns, and clearly feels that he can operate within a similarly tight framework for the last two films.

Starring Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson and Liam Hemsworth, Catching Fire will open in the UK on 22 November 2013, with the first Mockingjay film to follow on 21 November 2014. The series will finally come to a close with Mockingjay Part 2 on 20 November 2015.