After 4 "Hunger Games" installments, all of which became box office successes, Lionsgate is still hungry for more Katniss Everdeen adventures.
The company's entertainment vice chairman Michael Burns said Tuesday that fans can expect to see prequels of the saga coming out in the near future. He explains why.
"The one thing that kids say they missed [from the early Hunger Games films] was there were no arenas," he told The Hollywood Reporter. "If we went backwards, there obviously would be arenas."
"The first 'Hunger Games' chronicled the 74th annual Games, and 'Catching Fire' depicted the 75th Games, but the two Mockingjay movies contained no arena action whatsoever," /FILM noted.
It appears Lionsgate is milking the franchise for what it's worth, considering its success at the box office tills. The company also is eyeing to apply a similar prequel strategy with its other hit franchises, such as "Twilight" and "The Expendables."
"There's clearly a lot of backstory to be explored within the world of Panem, but let's hope the prequels go beyond just the fun of watching (fictional) children murder each other for rich people's entertainment," /FILM said. "Especially seeing as we already know none of the past Games lead to a successful revolution."
Currently, Lionsgate has not yet made official announcements regarding spinoffs or further movies inspired by the "Hunger Games" franchise.
"Whatever extensions of 'The Hunger Games' brand we pursue, the intent is not to glorify violence by arbitrarily telling arena stories, but to continue Suzanne Collins's exploration of the concepts of just war theory," Burns revealed to Variety.
Notably, Burns is not the only one interested in the prequel prospect. "Mockingjay" director Francis Lawrence had been quoted as saying that he's interested in what Panem was like before the Games.
"The interesting part of the story for me is to go back 75 years earlier and see how everything became the way it is," he told Entertainment Weekly. "I'm sure if [author] Suzanne [Collins] were to get inspired and decide there's another story that's important for her to tell that exists within the world of Panem and whether about the Dark Days, another character, or another set of Games, whatever that could be, I'm sure it would be great."
"And I'd loved to be involved, absolutely," he added.
However, he also said that Jennifer Lawrence, who plays the film series' heroine, may not appear in prequels as her story has ended with "Mockingjay 2."
"I think that Suzanne created such an iconic character, and I think she's the main reason why everyone comes back to these stories," he said. "Now, that's come to an end."
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