Francis Lawrence regrets cutting the ending of The Hunger Games in two

“In retrospect, I realized it was frustrating.”

Francis Lawrencethe director of I’m a legend And Constantineproduced three opuses of Hunger Games before tackling its prequel, The Ballad of the Serpent and the Songbird.

Interviewed by the magazine People on the occasion of the upcoming release of this film no longer carried by Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen, but by Rachel Zegler, Tom Blythe, Peter Dinklage or even Viola Davis, he explains that he has one regret in relation to the main saga: having cut in two the last volume of Suzanne Collins, The revolt.

Its part 1 was released in November 2014 in cinemas, and its sequel and end during the same month… of 2015. A year apart between two opuses taken from the same plot is a long time, and this “even if we tried to cut it into two separate dramatic angles”he considers about the two films to be seen again Thursday evening on TFX.

“I totally regret it, he said. I don’t think everyone thinks the same, but I do. In retrospect, and after hearing the reactions of fans and critics, their anger, I realized that it was frustrating. I can understand their complaints. In an episode of a series, when you end on a cliffhanger, you only have to wait a week for the next one, or sometimes you can continue and see everything at once. So making people wait a year, I think it comes across as an act of malice. However, that wasn’t what we wanted.”

When Francis Lawrence was brought back for the prequel, he was careful to ensure that this story was told in one go. “I wouldn’t have wanted them to cut the book into two films, he continues. Besides, it was never discussed, even if it is a long book. We’ve had so much criticism about this about Mockingjayfans, professionals, everyone in fact, that I told them directly: ‘We won’t do that. Let’s make a longer film instead.’“

L’s storya Ballad of the Serpent and the Songbird : Prequel to Hunger Games set 64 years earlier, in the years following the period of “Dark Days”the first failed rebellion in Panem…

Many years before becoming President of Panem, young Coriolanus Snow is chosen as District 12’s mentor during the new Hunger Games.

The trailer for the blockbuster expected in theaters on November 17, 2023:

Hunger Games: Francis Lawrence deciphers the prequel trailer