Francis Lawrence must be one of the happiest men in the world right now.  For only his fourth feature film, he gets to direct the sequel to the MASSIVE hit “The Hunger Games.”

 Before this, his only 3 features were “Water for Elephants” with Robert Pattinson and Reese Witherspoon, “I Am Legend” with Will Smith, and “Constantine” with Keanu Reeves.  Before that, he was a prolific music video director for the likes of Britney Spears, Greenday, Will Smith, Aerosmith, etc.

So let’s recap, Lawrence has a romantic drama, a post-apocalyptic action, a dark comic book adaptation, and a bunch of music videos on his resume. All of this definitely influenced Lionsgate’s decision to choose him as the guy who will direct this epic action/adventure film….But if you’re still asking “why him?” then you are asking the right question. 

The ultimate deciding factor that led them to selecting Lawrence is their production schedule for “Catching Fire”. It’s extremely tight (which is why “The Hunger Games” director Gary Ross backed out of the sequel) and he is willing to hold to their strict timetable.  For the money they are probably paying him, and the popularity everyone already knows the film is going to bring, I would be willing to stick to the schedule, too!  One of the reasons their schedule is so tight is that the film’s star, Jennifer Lawrence, has some obligations to FOX in regards to a follow up of “X-Men:  First Class” in which she plays Mystique.

“I Am Legend” is dark and “Constantine” is even darker; so, in theory, Lawrence should be able to delve into the dark, disturbing nature of everything surrounding The Hunger Games.  That is exactly what the sequel needs since it is following a thematically uneven predecessor.

DISCLAIMER:  Francis Lawrence is in no way related to star of the “Hunger Games” films, Jennifer Lawrence.  It is an interesting coincidence though…