In 2014, Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part One was released. The following year, the sequel was rolled out and, with a gap of a year, prompted some fans to blast the decision. Now, the director, Francis Lawrence, has defended his intentions.
In a chat with People, the filmmaker acknowledged the fury of some admirers on the long wait.
“What I realized in retrospect — and after hearing all the reactions and feeling the kind of wrath of fans, critics, and people at the split — is that I realized it was frustrating,” adding, “And I can understand it,” he said.
But the Constantine director added, “In an episode of television, if you have a cliffhanger, you have to wait a week or you could just binge it and then you can see the next episode. But making people wait a year, I think, came across as disingenuous, even though it wasn’t. Our intentions were not to be disingenuous.”
However, the Grammy winner expressed regret for halving the Mockingjay into two parts.
“I totally regret it. I totally do,” he continued. “I’m not sure everybody does, but I definitely do.”
Meanwhile, on the work front, Francis’s new offering, The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, is set to hit the theatres on Nov 17.