"Catching Fire" director Francis Lawrence may not be done with the second film in the "Hunger Games" series, but he already has the script to work with for the third film, "Mockingjay (Part One)." The screenplay, which was written by Danny Strong, is reportedly finished and has been approved by Lionsgate, reported the Hollywood Reporter on Friday.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, the screenwriter had already written the script for the first part of "Mockingjay" and was only waiting on the studio's approval to begin writing the script for the final part of the popular series. However, it is unclear how Strong split the final book in the bestselling trilogy.
Director Francis Lawrence, who is director for the second film, has been hired to direct the final two films in the "Hunger Games" series. According to the Hollywood Reporter, producer Nina Jacobson will produce the film via her Color Force banner.
The upcoming film in the series, "Catching Fire," is currently in its post-production phase. Although filming officially ended in December, lead actress Jennifer Lawrence (Katniss Everdeen) and new tribute Sam Claflin (Finnick Odair) have confirmed that they will return to Hawaii later this month to reshoot some scenes.
"The Hunger Games" series is based on the wildly successful book series by the same name by author Suzanne Collins. The first film, which hit theaters in March 2012, was incredibly successful, catapulting its stars Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson and Liam Hemsworth to international success.
"Catching Fire" will hit theaters later this year, on November 22. The following two films are scheduled for November 21, 2014 and November 20, 2015 respectively, reported slashfilm.com.