As it has been rumoured, so it has come to pass: Simon Beaufoy, who was reportedly Lionsgate’s top choice to write the Hunger Games sequel Catching Fire, has indeed won the gig and is already hard at work.
Gary Ross, who co-wrote (along with novelist Suzanne Collins and in-demand script doctor Billy Ray) and directed the first film, is back on megaphone duty, but is apparently supervising Beaufoy’s adaptation of the second novel in the trilogy.
Catching Fire follows the further adventures of heroine Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) who (spoiler alert if you’ve never cracked the books open) survives her first encounter with the deadly gladiatorial games and, along with Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson) finds that things are still not easy. They’re punished for their defiance by being forced to compete in a special 75th staging of the games, which sees them put up against past winners.
With the likes of Woody Harrelson and Liam Hemsworth also likely to return, Catching Fire is currently scheduled for November 22, 2013. But you don’t have long to wait to see The Hunger Games itself: the first movie arrives on March 23 this year.
Oh, and a new picture (which is either from the film or the world's oddest Golden Globes viewing party) has arrived, courtesy of the LA Times.
