--- title: Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2: Francis Lawrence Interview description: Francis Lawrence, director of "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay -- Part 2" and the previous two installments, reflects on the movies' legacy. canonical: https://time.com/4120731/hunger-games-mockingjay-francis-lawrence/ author: Eliza Berman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-11-21T21:42:15.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-05T08:41:21.264Z article:section: Entertainment og:title: The Director of Three 'Hunger Games' Movies on Resisting a 'Squeaky-Clean' Ending og:description: He reflects on the trilogy as it comes to a close og:url: https://time.com/4120731/hunger-games-mockingjay-francis-lawrence/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltea9baff94b8b5dc0/6988725ce20a872008a8e5a0/francis-lawrence.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3000 og:image:height: 1688 og:image:alt: Francis-Lawrence og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: The Director of Three 'Hunger Games' Movies on Resisting a 'Squeaky-Clean' Ending twitter:description: He reflects on the trilogy as it comes to a close twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltea9baff94b8b5dc0/6988725ce20a872008a8e5a0/francis-lawrence.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # The Director of Three _Hunger Games_ Movies on Resisting a 'Squeaky-Clean' Ending > Sponsored content. 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Terms and conditions apply. * Savings buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Savings Account. * No ATM fees from Ally Bank at Allpoint and Moneypass ATMs plus we reimburse for fees charged by other ATM owners nationwide up to $10 per statement cycle. * Early direct deposit offers eligible direct deposits up to two days sooner. * Spending buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Spending Account. ## Video: Exclusive Interview With Hunger Games Director Francis Lawrence [Watch (HLS stream): Exclusive Interview With Hunger Games Director Francis Lawrence](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/1yxPVhiY.m3u8) (2:41)  _Published 2015-11-19. Francis Lawrence Describes the Legacy of "The Hunger Games"_ by [Eliza Berman](https://time.com/author/eliza-berman/) and [Salima Koroma](https://time.com/author/salima-koroma/) Nov 21, 2015 9:42 PM UTC by [Eliza Berman](https://time.com/author/eliza-berman/) and [Salima Koroma](https://time.com/author/salima-koroma/) Nov 21, 2015 9:42 PM UTC With great fandom comes great responsibility. Francis Lawrence, the director who helmed three of the four _Hunger Games_ movies—all but the original installment—knew this from the moment he took his first meeting about the project. “They’re so passionate about the stories and about the world and the characters,” he says of the stories’ devoted fan base. “But I never felt immense pressure, any more than I put on myself.” As the final chapter of the series, _The Hunger Games: Mockingjay — Part 2_, hits theaters Nov. 20, Lawrence is reflecting on more than just the dedication of Katniss Everdeen adherents. His three movies, along with the first _Hunger Games_ film, directed by Gary Ross, have helped propel Jennifer Lawrence to superstardom, accumulated one of the biggest [box office takes](http://www.the-numbers.com/movies/franchises/) of any movie franchise and inspired a [resurgence](http://www.npr.org/2013/11/27/247379498/more-girls-target-archery-inspired-by-the-hunger-games) in the popularity of archery. In addition those accomplishments, the director notes, the movies’ imagery and spirit of resistance have also galvanized real people fighting for very real causes, from Ferguson, MO. to Bangkok, Thailand. “The kids started using the three-finger salute and suddenly that salute becomes illegal and suddenly people are getting arrested, and real life starts mirroring the movie,” Lawrence recalls of the 2014 anti-government protests in Thailand, during which protesters adopted a revolutionary hand gesture used in the films. “We saw it in Ferguson, too, with ‘If we burn, you burn with us’ spray-painted across walls.” For Lawrence, the flip side of taking pride in his movies’ ability to inspire is the concern that some viewers misconstrue the message. “I don’t want to promote violence, and part of the themes of these movies is that you have to be careful going into conflict… even if revolution is needed, you have to be very careful because there will be loss and there will be consequence,” he says. That careful balance is particularly fraught when it comes to young adults, the target audience for Suzanne Collins’ trilogy, upon which the four films are based, and, by extension, Lawrence’s movies. Even before the films were released, some critics and parents [decried](http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702303657404576357622592697038) the stories’ violence, suggesting that young people are ill-equipped to properly digest it. But Lawrence has never shared that fear. “Part of the reason that the series is a success… is that the author decided to write stories about the consequence of war and the consequence of violence for teenagers but treated them with respect and didn’t flinch,” he explains. “Often adults don’t give kids enough credit.” As _Mockingjay_ _— Part 2_ brings the quadrilogy to a close and fans and critics pen elegies and eulogies for a cultural phenomenon, Lawrence finds himself still too close to consider the notion of legacy. He says that perhaps the fans who have come of age alongside Katniss, Peeta and Gale will one day deem their own children ready to engage with the story. “Ideally these become movies that people sort of want to pass down and show again,” he says, “that hold sort of a special place in their hearts.” ### See Jennifer Lawrence in Exclusive Hunger Games Portraits  Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen Tim Palen  Jena Malone as Johanna Mason Tim Palen  Willow Shields as Primrose Everdeen and Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen Tim Palen  Natalie Dormer as Cressida and Liam Hemsworth as Gale Hawthorne Tim Palen  Woody Harrelson as Haymitch Abernathy Tim Palen  Elizabeth Banks as Effie Trinket Tim Palen  Sam Claflin as Finnick Odair Tim Palen  Natalie Dormer as Cressida Tim Palen ## Transcript [ MUSIC ] Living and kind of breathing the Hunger Games world for three and a half years and never leaving it, was great. You sort of never break away for your entire life for that period of time. [ MUSIC ] If you end All of this. [ MUSIC ] All of those deaths. [ MUSIC ] They mean something. I don't worry if the movies are too dark for kids. I think part of the reason that that series is success and that the books were a success, is that the author decided to write stories about the consequence of war, and the consequence of violence. For teenagers. But treated them with respect and didn't flinch. And I think they appreciated that and they understand that. Freedom. Freedom. Freedom. You'd have these protests in Thailand and the kids started using the three- finger salute and suddenly that salute becomes illegal and suddenly people are getting arrested. And real life starts mirroring the movie. And of course, the movie is just sort of reflecting history. It's quite moving. [ MUSIC ] His last movie hasn't even come out yet. So to think about it having a legacy Is odd already because I'm just still to close to it. I do know that it has a very passionate fan base that has kind of grown up and matured over the course of the five years that these movies have been coming out, and for what? Maybe eight years that the books have been out. [ INAUDIBLE ] So you've got kids that were Pre- teens that started reading these things, that are in college. So who knows in 20 years, when they're married, they've got kids, or maybe it's a little longer than that, they feel it's time to show their kids. Ideally these become movies that people sort of wanna pass down and show again. And that holds sort of a special place in their hearts, in terms of cinema for them. [ MUSIC ] I'm going to kill Snow. I don't wanna spoil too much for people who haven't seen the movie, but I definitely Think that there is optimism in the movie, and it was something that we really strove for. I will also say that I don't think it's squeaky clean. I mean, there's not a nice little pretty bow on the end of this movie, and I don't think when dealing with these kinds of themes and ideas You can, it would just be false, it wouldn't feel honest. And so we tried to make the most honest ending possible. 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