Danny Strong To Write ‘Hunger Games: Mockingjay’ Screenplay [Report]
Critically-acclaimed and Emmy Award-winning writer Danny Strong has been signed to write the screenplay for the final entry in the popular Hunger Games film franchise, Mockingjay.
Joss Whedon fans will always remember Danny Strong for his stint on TV’s cult-hit Buffy the Vampire Slayer, as the meek and nerdy Sunnydale student Jonathan Levinson who went on to become part of season six’s big bad “The Trio,” but the actor has actually become a bankable writer for film and television, having crafted the screenplays for HBO’s Recount and Game Change, the latter of which earned him a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Miniseries, Movie or a Dramatic Special.
His latest gig? Laying the foundation for the two-part Hunger Games finale Mockingjay, set to premiere in November of 2014.
The material of Suzanne Collins’ Hunger Games novels will mark a slightly lighter and younger entry into Strong’s normally adult-oriented repertoire, which upcoming projects The Butler and The Lost Symbol.
Variety broke the story, though studios have not yet confirmed Strong’s involvement.
The Hunger Games grossed $685 million worldwide since opening in March. Its sequel, Catching Fire, will be directed by Francis Lawrence from a script by Simon Beaufoy. It is set for release on November 22, 2013.
Do you think that Danny Strong will be a good choice for the Mockingjay adaptation? Also, are you getting tired of film adaptations of books splitting the last act into two parts? I know I am, but I haven’t yet decided on whether to blame the studios in what amounts to an obvious money-grab or the authors themselves for cramming all of the good stuff into their last novel and making it practically impossible to adapt in one film.
