Now that it’s officially been confirmed that Gary Ross will no longer be behind the camera for Catching Fire, the sequel to current king of the box-office, The Hunger Games, everybody has been wondering who Lionsgate Studios will get to take over the director’s chair.
Well according to 24Frames, three names have floated to the top of the studio’s wishlist, and while all 3 of them are incredible choices themselves, one – Alfonso Cuaron – is in my opinion the perfect choice.
The other two names being alluded to is David Cronenberg (The Fly, Eastern Promises, eXistenZ) and Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu (Babel, 21 Grams, Biutiful), all of whom – just like Cuaron – meets Hunger Games author Suzanne Collins’ apparent stipulation that the director should have enough credentials to their name to prove that they are worthy of making a quality film and not just a box-smash a la Michael Bay.
While Cronenberg is certainly the most decorated of the three choices, I highly doubt that they will get him. The talented director has frequently turned down blockbuster styled movies in the past and instead chose to focus on making more auteur fair.
And while Innaritu may not be as widely known to the general movie-going public, he certainly has the directing chops to turn in a stunning movie. Based on the gritty and emotionally hard-hitting nature of his previous efforts, his vision of Catching Fire and/or Mockinjay would certainly be interesting to see.
However, even with all those accomplishments and skills, I still think Cuaron is the ideal choice for this sequel. Firstly, he’s been in this position before: When Chris Columbus decided to call it quits on the Harry Potter franchise after just two films, Warner Bros also needed to urgently find a replacement director. Along came the talented Mexican director, Cuaron, and with his Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban produced not only what many consider to be the best film in the series, but also introduced a maturity to the material that laid the foundation for the rest of the films to come.
One reason why Azkaban worked so well is because Cuaron showed an incredibly deft hand at adapting the book, accomplishing the nearly impossible task of keeping the purist fans happy while at the same time trimming off all the fat to make for a better movie.
Also, as anybody who has ever seen his post-apocalyptic tale, Children of Men would know, he sure as hell would be capable of perfectly executing not only the razor-blade tense action sequences but also the desolately grim and bleak imagery of Catching Fire and Mockingjay.
And importantly, what with the massive time constraints the studio is under due to star Jennifer Lawrence’s prior commitments to the X-Men: First Class sequel, Cuaron is also available. He is just wrapping up production on Gravity, a thriller starring Sandra Bullock and George Clooney about a lone astronaut who is stranded in space after a failed mission, after which his schedule is free.
So what do you guys think? Do you agree that Cuaron would be a great choice or is there somebody else that you would like to see take over the franchise?
Last Updated: April 13, 2012
