"Lionsgate announced that a film adaptation of Catching Fire will be released November 22, 2013, as a sequel to the film adaptation of The Hunger Games, which was released March 23, 2012.



Lionsgate has announced the film's November 22, 2013 release date with principal photography to take place in summer/fall 2012. The shooting timeframe was co-ordinated between Lionsgate and Fox, in order to allow time for star Jennifer Lawrence to shoot the sequel to Fox's X-Men: First Class in January 2013.



On April 10, 2012, it was announced that Gary Ross, the director of The Hunger Games, would not return due to a 'tight' and 'fitted' schedule. On April 19, 2012, it was announced that Francis Lawrence was offered the director position for the film. According to sources, the adaptation must be done filming by December 2012 to fit Jennifer Lawrence's schedule. Lionsgate officially announced Francis Lawrence as the director for Catching Fire on May 3, 2012. Two days later, it was reported that Michael Arndt (Toy Story 3, Little Miss Sunshine) is in talks to re-write the script for Catching Fire. On May 24, 2012, the film was renamed The Hunger Games: Catching Fire."