The Hunger Games: Catching Fire To Be Delayed?

Could the sequel miss its targeted 2013 release date?
The Hunger Games franchise is going through something of a promotional frenzy right now, what with the fantastic first movie adaptation of the novels (4.5/5) doing the rounds well in both the UK and US box office charts. That said, from what we're hearing right now, the wait for the sequel Catching Fire may now be a little longer than expected. The second film will focus on Katniss and Peeta's Victory Tour through the twelve districts and the brewing rebellions occuring across Panem that threaten to chnage their world forever. Apparently, director Gary Ross wants bigger wages next time around considering the original's unprecedented success, which will mean Lionsgate either have to find a new helm or shift their budget a bit to deal with Ross quickly. An additional problem too is that Jennifer Lawrence (Katniss) is signed up to reprise her role as Mystique in the announced sequel to X-Men: First Class in the near future as well, and if 20th Century Fox decide they want to push ahead with that superhero romp in time for a late 2013 or early 2014 release then she'll be contractually obliged to head there instead. If this is the case, then Catching Fire will need to be pushed back into 2014, and what with The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2 seemingly marking the end for Lionsgate's other most financially successful film series this Autumn, that will leave the distributor in an uncomfortable position for releases next year. Currently, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire is set to debut in cinemas on November 22nd, 2013, and the series finale Mockingjay will likely be split up into two parts in much the same way as Twilight's climax has. We'll keep you posted on any release date changes and/or directorial developments.