Francis Lawrence, the director best known for his work on The Hunger Games films, has agreed to bring another best-selling dystopian sci-fi novel to the screen.
Lawrence is no stranger to projects set in bleak futures. Beyond directing three of the Hunger Games installments (he took over after the first film), his filmography includes adaptations such as I Am Legend and The Long Walk. Now he’s set to tackle another property with a ready-made audience, similar to how The Hunger Games had a large following before its 2012 debut.
The Hollywood Reporter says Lawrence will direct Paramount Pictures’ movie version of Red Rising, the opening novel in Pierce Brown’s series of the same name. Justin Rhoades, who collaborated with Lawrence on the Netflix film version of the Bioshock game, is writing the screenplay. Lawrence and his production partner Cameron MacConomy, under their about:blank banner, will serve as executive producers alongside author Pierce Brown and producer Francesco Goedhuis.
This isn’t the first time Red Rising has been eyed for a film. Universal Pictures picked up adaptation rights in 2014, but that project never moved forward. Brown also pursued a television adaptation beginning in 2018 and at one point said a major streamer had interest, but in March the author confirmed that the small-screen version was no longer progressing.
Set centuries in the future, Red Rising imagines human civilization on Mars organized by a rigid hierarchy of colors: Golds at the apex and Reds at the bottom. The story centers on Darrow, a Red who toils as a miner and grows increasingly furious at the way his caste is consigned to brutal labor. After his wife’s death and a near-fatal turn of events of his own, Darrow infiltrates Gold society with the goal of dismantling the oppressive system from within.
Brown’s original trilogy continues with Golden Son (2015) and Morning Star (2016). He then expanded the universe with the Iron Gold sequence, which so far includes Iron Gold (2018), Dark Age (2019), and Light Bringer (2023); the concluding volume, Red God, has not yet been dated. In addition to the novels, Brown has overseen three Red Rising prequel comic series, each spanning six issues and published by Dynamite Entertainment.
News of Lawrence signing on to direct Red Rising arrives as he prepares to release his next film, The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping, about a month away. Like 2023’s The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, Sunrise on the Reaping is a prequel to the original Hunger Games story, this time centering on a young Haymitch Abernathy, portrayed by Joseph Zada. Paramount’s slate of adaptations also includes Children of Blood and Bone (scheduled for next January), Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow (set for November 2027), and an undated take on The Midnight Library.
Development on Red Rising is ongoing. In the meantime, The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping is due in theaters on November 20.
Ava Thornton is an entertainment journalist with a keen eye for the latest in Hollywood, indie films, and streaming trends.
Her work blends insider knowledge with a deep appreciation for storytelling.
