The Hunger Games Could “Live On And On” Beyond Mockingjay – Part 2, According To Lionsgate

As if there was ever any doubt, Lionsgate looks keen to double down on The Hunger Games further down the line. In a piece by The Hollywood Reporter, Lionsgate Entertainment Vice Chairman Michael Burns stated that the YA franchise could “live on and on,” effectively confirming that the studio has at least hatched early plans for a prequel or spinoff movie.

Likening the dystopian juggernaut to Warner Bros.’ Harry Potter series, which is getting a spinoff of its own in 2016 courtesy of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, Burns noted that there is still ample content to explore within the rich world created by author Suzanne Collins.

Per THR:

“The one thing that kids say they missed (from the early Hunger Games films) was there was no arenas. If we went backwards there obviously would be arenas.”

Could the studio be readying an offshoot film that would explore the bloody history of Panem beyond Katniss Everdeen? It’s certainly possible. In fact, director Francis Lawrence, who helmed both installments of the Mockingjay finale, revealed earlier this year that everyone involved on Lionsgate’s project was thinking of expanding the Hunger Games franchise in the future.

The very fact that Mockingjay – Part 2 has broke past half a billion dollars at the worldwide box office already means that news of the studio tossing around ideas for new entires into the canon should come as no surprise. Granted, Lawrence’s grand finale opened to a slightly lower box office than its predecessors, indicating that The Hunger Games had succumbed to a mild case of franchise fatigue, meaning that the studio will likely hold fire for now before revisiting its prized post-apocalyptic universe.

That aside though, do you view The Hunger Games as an evergreen franchise under Lionsgate?