'The Hunger Games' Sequel Will Change Directors as Gary Ross Drops Out

It didn't take a revolt in District 11 for Gary Ross to step down as director of "The Hunger Games" franchise. Even though Ross had said that he wanted to stay on, negotiations over Ross' contract for the sequel, "Catching Fire," have apparently fallen through and Ross has unofficially left the project.

Should that hold up, the question becomes how "Catching Fire" will change in style from the first--and remarkably successful--movie in the franchise. Ross did a serviceable job with the adaptation, including the necessary information and getting rid of the extra while adding scenes that helped set up the sequel and establish the enemies. You can read more about the changes in the movie and read a full review here on Yidio.

One can't help but compare to the other major young adult franchises, the Harry Potter and Twilight series. Both of those franchises saw a change in director (in the case of Potter, more than one) and either benefited or faltered as a result: the Potter franchise only saw better reviews as the series went on, while there was a big drop in positive reviews between "Twilight" and "The Twilight Saga: New Moon."

At least we can be fairly confident that if Ross is replaced, there will be much less close-up shaky cam in "Catching Fire."