“I totally regret it”: The mistake The Hunger Games director won’t make again

After the first part directed by Gary Ross, Francis Lawrence took control of the Hunger Games franchise with Jennifer Lawrence in the second opus, Hunger Games – Catching Fire (2013). He also signed La Révolte, the final film in the original saga split into two parts. However, the director now regrets this split, which caused a lot of talk back then.

In an interview with People magazine, published online Friday, the director spoke about what he says was a “mistake” on his part.

I totally regret it. really. I’m not sure if this is true for everyone, but it certainly is for me.

However, he noted that the team at that time agreed that both parties Rebellionwhich will be released in cinemas with an interval of one year,had their own distinct dramatic questions”, which spawned a complete story arc. But he also admitted that the wait must have been very frustrating for fans, and that he now understands mixed reactions to the final book split.

What I realize in retrospect—and after hearing all the backlash and separation from fans, critics, and people’s outrage—is that it was disappointing. And I can understand that.

He continued: “In an episode of a series, if you have a cliffhanger, you have to wait a week or you can just eat and then you can watch the next episode. But making people wait for a year I think seemed disingenuous, even though it wasn’t. Our intention was not to deceive.“

But the director also added that it made the books more adaptable by splitting them into two parts: “In fact, we had more screen time with the book than with any other film, because you’re approaching four hours of screen time for the last book.“, he explained.

A mistake it won’t make with the prequel

As for its upcoming prequel, The Hunger Games: The Ballad of the Serpent and Songbird Francis Lawrence According to him, his intention was still to make a film based on the book by Susan Collins, published in 2020, and this time without a division.

“I would never let a book split in two”, he said. “There was never any real talk about it. It’s a long book, but we got so much crap for splitting Rebellion in two—from fans, critics, everybody—that I said, “No way. I’m just going to make a longer film.’“

The Hunger Games: The Ballad of the Snake and the Bird It will be released in theaters on November 15.

Meanwhile, the entire original saga can be rediscovered streaming on Amazon Prime Video.