Jennifer Lawrence Comments on Director Francis Lawrence' Vision for THE HUNGER GAMES: CATCHING FIRE

Lawrence (I Am Legend, Constantine) has signed on to direct the sequel to this spring's hit film The Hunger Games, which based on the second in a series of books by Suzanne Collins that has 36 million copies in circulation in the US alone.

Katniss Everdeen has won the annual Hunger Games with Peeta Mellark. But it had been a victory won by defiance of the Capitol and their harsh rules. Katniss and Peeta should be happy. But there are rumors of rebellion among the subjects, and Katniss and Peeta, to their horror, are the faces of that rebellion.

Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, and Liam Hemsworth will reprise their lead roles as Katniss, Peeta and Gale, with Lenny Kravitz, Elizabeth Banks, Stanley Tucci, Donald Sutherland, Toby Jones, and Woody Harrelson also returning to their respective roles. The film will be produced by Jacobson’s Color Force in tandem with producer Jon Kilik.

The film's starlet recently shared her thoughts on the project's new director, Francis Lawrence, which is helping build her anticipation to begin production: "I really like his take, which is a lot of what I liked in [The Hunger Games director] Gary Ross."

"It’s the realistic grasp of the story instead of all the details of the imaginary things... The new movie will be very real, which is what I’m excited about."

Casting for the film is still underway, and many popular young actors -- including Armie Hammer (J. Edgar, The Social Network) and Garrett Hedlund (<>Tron: Legacy, On The Road) and Mia Wasikowska (Alice in Wonderland -- have been recently linked to roles. Production on The Hunger Games: Catching Fire is slated to begin this Fall, and the film will be released on November 22, 2013.