Cast This: Who should direct the next Hunger Games film, Catching Fire?

For this edition of Cast This, instead of trying to find an actor to play a certain role, we are going to find a director for a certain sequel.

The sequel in question would be the one to THE HUNGER GAMES– CATCHING FIRE. Right now, there’s this ping pong talk about whether Gary Ross will be signing on again to helm. First, it comes out that Ross won’t be doing it because he wants more cash. Then, it’s reported that all that “wanting more money” business is untrue. The sequel is set to start this fall, so Lionsgate needs to get someone in the director’s chair quick.

The pace of CATCHING FIRE follows closely with that of THE HUNGER GAMES. We enter into the 75th games, there’s more romance, and definitely some increased tension. Whoever takes on this task should want to appease fans of the series as well as those who are new to it.

While Ross did a seemingly okay job with the first film, a replacement may not be too big of a deal. This opinion may vary. I’ve heard several fans of the series say that Ross did a perfect job capturing the contents of the book. Then there’s the other camp that says anyone else could easily helm the next film. Ross has had a big hand in working on the sequel, so why wouldn’t he just go ahead and come back? If he doesn’t, someone else needs to be found. So what say you? Who do we get to direct CATCHING FIRE?

Hands down, I love the idea of Jon Bernthal. I think that he’s shown through his performance as Shane on THE WALKING DEAD that he can balance two sides perfectly. Tom Hardy was sort of a gimme in my opinion since the guy can get pretty jacked (as seen in BRONSON) and he’s got great acting chops. Brock Lesnar was sort of an obvious due to the fact that he’s insanely jacked. However, he probably couldn’t act his way out of a paper bag.