With filming still underway on “Hunger Games,” Lionsgate believe they have a winner and they aren’t wasting any time in getting a sequel dated and on the calendar. The studio has announced today that “Catching Fire” will hit theaters on November 22, 2013.
And that’s it. While we can expect Katniss, Peeta and Gale to return, there are no other details right now or any word on whether Gary Ross — already racing to finish the first movie in time for its March release — will be back on board again. The sequel finds Katniss and Peeta on the twisted Victory Tour as talks of an uprising against the Capitol — which the duo have helped inspire — begin to circulate. The story opens up a bit more about the fictional nation of Panem as things gear up for another edition of the deadly Hunger Games.
So yeah, there will be no extended multi-year wait for a sequel. “Catching Fire” will land just over a year and half after its predecessor. Is Lionsgate putting the cart before the horse? We’ll soon see. “Hunger Games” gets the franchise rolling on March 23, 2012.
