The search for a director to helm The Hunger Games sequel, Catching Fire, continues today with the announcement of Juan Antonio Bayona and Joe Cornish being added to the shortlist, according to Deadline. Lionsgate has reportedly met with Bayona about the opportunity and is considering Cornish, though neither director has signed on as of yet.
As for the status on each director, Juan Antonio Bayona may be too busy to fit the film into his schedule though he’s not out of the running yet and apparently Cornish hasn’t earned a meeting, which means that he likely won’t make it to the front of the pack.
For those not familiar with the above names, Cornish is responsible for the excellent Attack The Block, which mixes action, horror, comedy and sci-fi to make a very fun and crowd pleasing film. As for Bayona, he gave us The Orphanage, which was a solid horror film that I actually really enjoyed.
Right now, Bennett Miller is said to be close to the top of the list. He’s very interested but the only problem is his schedule. He still wants to direct Foxcatcher for FOX and that would interfere with the August start date for Catching Fire. If he were to sign on, Lionsgate would have to delay the start, which is something that they likely wouldn’t want to do.
There are a number of names on Lionsgate’s shortlist and right now, it’s completely up in the air. With the August start date still in place though, you can expect the studio to choose a name very soon. And when they do, we’ll be sure to let you know.