Could The Hunger Games Be Set To Continue Past Mockingjay?

Though writer Suzanne Collins’ Hunger Games trilogy of books doesn’t appear to be growing a fourth volume, it appears that may not be the case for the movie adaptations.

The vastly popular young adult franchise, which brought home the bacon for indie studio Lionsgate when it released the first film in 2012, has fast-tracked its way through three movies, with the fourth and final film appearing next year.

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The last film sees Collins’ final book, ‘Mockingjay’, split into two, as per the studio’s desire to maximise both the life and the profits from the franchise.

But ‘Mockingjay Part 1 and 2’ director Francis Lawrence has hinted that the films could well continue past the material in the books.

“Everybody is thinking about [expanding the franchise] and talking about it,” he told MTV.

Though it’s not without its potential issues – he added ‘to just say ‘oh, we’re still in the Hunger Games world’ is really risky’ – it feels more like a case of ‘why wouldn’t they?’ than ‘why would they?’

“You need to make sure that you have something new to say,” he added.

“New characters need to be created that are just as compelling as Katniss.

“I’m definitely open to talking about it, and I think everybody’s thinking about it.”

Thus far, the series, based around the turbulent revolt in the fiction land of Panem, has hauled in nearly $2 billion (£1.2 billion) for the studio, with another movie still to come.

It’s likely that it will have made well over $3 billion (£1.9 billion) by the time the final Mockingjay movie is released next November, making it one of the most successful movie series of all time.

It’s nearest competitor, the ‘Twilight’ series, managed $3.3 billion (£2.1 billion), but over five movies.

Speaking to The Wrap last week, BoxOffice.com’s Phil Contrino said: “The historical significance of this is underplayed. ‘The Hunger Games’ doesn’t get spoken of in the same realm as ‘Harry Potter’ or ‘The Dark Knight,’ but it should.”

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1’ is out now across the UK.

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Image credits: Lionsgate