For a while now, it’s been rumored that Lionsgate was considering carrying on the ‘The Hunger Games’ film franchise, despite the fact that the newest film, ‘Mockingjay – Part 2’ wraps up the story from the original novels by Suzanne Collins. Now it looks like those plans are still on, but what’s left to tell?
Well, the first movie focused on the 74th annual Hunger Games. That means there were 73 before that! Can you say “prequels?!” Conceivably, Lionsgate could churn out 73 more movies! Cha-ching!
Director Francis Lawrence has already stated that he was interested in doing prequels. And Collins’ original novel is clearly built upon a rich (and unexplored) fictional history, which Lawrence and Lionsgate could dive into and explore. Possible stories could reveal how Panem came about or chronicle the adventures of a young Haymitch.
That seems to be what was on the mind of Lionsgate’s entertainment vice chairman Michael Burns, when he spoke at the UBS Global Media and Communications Conference where he teased that there could be additional cinematic visits to Panem.
Mattel’s Katniss Barbie doll… PSYCH! It’s the slightly less frowny ‘Divergent’ Tris doll!“The one thing that kids say they missed (from the early Hunger Games films) was there was no arenas. If we went backwards there obviously would be arenas.”
He is, of course, referring to the sporting stadiums in which tributes battled for survival. Apparently, despite the title, fans didn’t get enough of the actual GAMES in the films.
(Of course the games were just a political misdirect and the whole thing was really a socio-political commentary, but who cares about that? More stabbin’!)
The bigger question is, do fans even want more? ‘Mockingjay – Part 2’ had the weakest opening of the entire series at the box office. (And before that, ‘Mockingjay – Part 1’ did.) Some criticize the movie for being too plodding and dour and the ending for being tacked-on and unsatisfying. It has remained the #1 movie in the country for three weeks, but that’s against minimal competition.
Isn’t it possible that folks have had enough ‘Hunger Games’? In terms of licensing, it’s never been a juggernaut like Harry Potter. And the dreary teenage post-apocalyptic shtick has been knocked off by ‘Divergent’ and ‘The Maze Runner’. Neither has come close to the same level of success but they say knock-offs can devalue a master brand and that may be the case here.
But at least ‘The Hunger Games’ won’t be alone. Lionsgate is also looking to run other franchises into the ground uh, further explore its properties ‘Twilight’, ‘The Expendables’ and ‘Saw’, with reboots, prequels and sequels. So get ready for more of those, too.
If you can’t get enough, it looks like the odds are ever in your favor, as you will be getting more! But if your belly is full of this dystopian storyline, you may want to slip an executive at Lionsgate some Nightlock and hope this franchise dies a dignified death like Rue. (Too soon?)
What do you think? Would you like to see more ‘Hunger Games’ movies? If so, what should they be about?
Source: Geek Tyrant
