The Hunger Games movie director regrets that Mockingjay shouldn't be split into two parts

The four films in the Hunger Games franchise have grossed $2.97 billion worldwide, with the last two films bringing in $1.4 billion. Recently, Francis Lawrence, director of The Hunger Games: Mockingjay (Part 1/2), discussed the mixed reactions to the final novel being split into two films ahead of the release of his latest installment in the series, A Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.

In an interview with People magazine, the director admitted that if he had the chance to do it again, he would not split Mockingjay into two separate films.

"I regret it very much, I really do," Lawrence said. "I'm not sure everyone feels that way, but I certainly do." Mockingjay follows a trend at the time of splitting the final film adaptation of a book series into two parts, such as Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows and The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, in an effort to squeeze in more revenue in a single financial year.

Lawrence also mentioned that the team agreed that the two "Mockingjay" films were released in theaters a year apart, which made it "each with its own independent dramatic problems" to tell a complete story arc.

On the other hand, the director added that he was happy to be able to adapt more content by splitting the original book into two parts, thus providing a more accurate adaptation. He explained: "In fact, we got more images from this book than any other movie, because the last book has nearly 4 hours of screen time."

As for the prequel film, The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes will be released on November 17. Lawrence said he always intended to make the film as one, even if it meant a longer running time.