Summary
ProlificHunger Gamesfranchise director Frances Lawrence wants to set the record straight on comparisons to his upcoming Stephen King adaptationThe Long Walk. There have been fiveHunger Gamesfilms to date, and Lawrence has directed four of them, withSeabiscuitdirector Gary Ross behind the first film. The films feature an annual contest where a boy and girl between the ages of 12 and 18 are sent from each district of a dystopian society to compete in the titularHunger Games. The games see the tributes forced to kill each other off until only one remains, with the entire spectacle being a display of power from the totalitarian government.
The upcoming adaptation of Stephen King’sThe Long Walkfeatures many similar story elements. It features a dystopian society that holds an annual contest that sees young men forced to walk, maintaining a certain speed, and if they fail to do so, they are shot and killed. The contest is eventually televised, and it acts as a display of power for the totalitarian government ruling over their society. Drawing natural comparisons totheHunger Gamesfranchisedue to the dystopian society and competition featuring young people dying one by one, the director was cognizant of them when taking on the King adaptation.
While speaking withVanity Fair,Lawrence knew the comparisons to his franchise films could be evident, saying, “I’m, like, ‘I don’t want this to feel likeThe Hunger Games.’ I’m really only interested in the emotional value of it. You want that impact.“He was determined to makeThe Long Walka very different film than hisHunger Gamesadaptations, noting the similarities in each story’s stakes, but promising,“It’s a very different dynamic, in terms of relationships.“Read Lawrence’s comments on theHunger GamesandThe Long Walkbelow:
Anything that has a contest with death as the stakes, and some sort of big prize if you win, can be connected in some way. But in The Hunger Games, everybody’s competing in a very different kind of way. There are alliances and you are trying to kill one another. Here, you’re not actually trying to kill one another. It’s a very different dynamic, in terms of relationships.
The Long WalkIs Due Out Later This Year, And Lawrence Isn’t Done WithThe Hunger Games
Lawrence also isn’t done with theHunger Gamesfranchise, as the next installment,The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping, is due out in 2026. The movie is a prequel to the series, taking place 24 years before the events ofThe Hunger Games, showing the 50thHunger Games, where Haymitch Abernathy, Katiniss and Peeta’s mentor, withJesse Plemons and McKenna Grace are setto star. While theHunger Gamesfranchise andThe Long Walkdiffer in their approaches to bleak games played to the death, they prove Lawrence is drawn to dystopian societies and unique storytelling.
