Lionsgate is certainly planning ahead with The Hunger Games, as while they’ve only just started filming the adaptation of Suzanne Collins’ first book, according to Deadline, they’ve already got plans to turn the three novels into four films. It’s not certain exactly how they plan to do this, and whether the last book will become two films, in the same as Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows and Twilight: Breaking Dawn, or if they’re going to work it differently.
While all this is dependent on the first film doing well (several other young adult franchises with big plans fell by the wayside after the first film, such as The Seeker and City Of Ember), it does make sense to have it all planned out well in advance, as it suggests they’ll already have the key cast members locked in for a fourth installment. A lack of pre-planning on that score led to renegotiations of contracts for the Potter and Twilight actors, and massive paydays for the stars, so this could potentially save Lionsgate a lot of cash if the first movie is a success.
Director Gary Ross is expected to stay with the series through all four movies, and presumably already has plans as to how they’ll turn the second and third books – Catching Fire and Mocking Jay – into three films. The Hunger Games is already the highest selling film Lionsgate has ever had at the Cannes Film Market, so they’re hoping for massive things when it reaches cinemas next March.