Francis Lawrence to Direct ‘Red Rising’ Movie for Paramount

According to THR, Paramount has acquired the rights to "Red Rising," Pierce Brown's best-selling dystopian sci-fi saga, and it has handed the keys to a familiar name.

Francis Lawrence, who directed four "Hunger Games" movies, is attached to direct an adaptation of the first novel, also titled "Red Rising." Justin Rhodes, who worked with Lawrence on Netflix's in-development "Bioshock" adaptation, will write the screenplay.

The story is set on Mars, in a future where people are split into classes by color. The Golds rule, and the Reds grind in the mines. Darrow is a Red. He loses the girl he loves, finds out his people have been lied to, and sneaks into the Gold world to bring it down. Sounds a lot like "The Hunger Games," right? Still, the series has sold over 6 million copies, so there's an audience here.

As for Lawrence, I've gone back and forth on him over the years. Last summer, ahead of "The Long Walk," I revisited his filmography and concluded that he's quietly built a good, if unspectacular, career. "Constantine," "I Am Legend," "Red Sparrow,” and ‘Catching Fire’ were all respectable efforts. None of them were amazing, but he's proven himself a steady hand, and plenty of far weaker hired-hand directors are working at the studio level. He isn't a bad filmmaker. He's a paycheck guy, sure, but one who delivers now and then, with a handful of watchable studio films across a 20-plus-year career.

‘Catching Fire’ remains the best "Hunger Games" movie, and if "Red Rising" is going to work, it needs that version of Lawrence.

"Red Rising" joins a growing slate of literary adaptations at Paramount. "Children of Blood and Bone" is finished and opens January 15, 2027. sian Heder’s "Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow," based on Gabrielle Zevin's novel, is shooting now with Daisy Edgar-Jones among the cast. "The Midnight Library," based on Matt Haig's novel and starring Florence Pugh, is set to shoot next year.

For now, Lawrence has "Sunrise on the Reaping," the sixth Hunger Games movie, hitting theaters on November 20. It's the fifth film he's directed from the franchise. After that, it's off to Mars.