‘Game Change’ writer Danny Strong starts work on ‘The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2’

Emmy-winning writer Danny Strong is going to write both parts of Lionsgate’s adaptation of The Hunger Games: Mockingjay. Strong has already finished working on part one and has started the second part.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the Game Change writer was hired by the studio to write the first film, based on the first half of Suzanne Collins’s final Hunger Games novel. While the studio gave him the option to write the second film, Lionsgate waited to see the finished product before picking up the the option.

Now, Strong is hard at work on the new script.

Lionsgate’s Hunger Games franchise continues with Catching Fire, which hits theaters on Nov. 22. According to Slash Film, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 is currently scheduled for Nov. 21, 2014, with Mockingjay - Part 2 to follow on Nov. 20, 2015.

THR notes that Catching Fire director Francis Lawrence is expected to return for Mockingjay. Nina Jacobson is producing the franchise. Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson and Liam Hemsworth are also signed to star in Mockingjay.

Gary Ross directed The Hunger Games, which grossed $686 million worldwide, notes Box Office Mojo.

After the film’s success, Lionsgate decided to follow in Harry Potter and Twilight’s footsteps by dividing the final book in half.

image: Lionsgate