Some major release announcements came down today for the end of one franchise and the potential start of another.
DreamWorks Studios‘ NEED FOR SPEED film, directed by ACT OF VALOR’s Scott Waugh, will be released by Disney on February 7, 2014. The driving game will be potential competition for the FAST AND FURIOUS franchise. No word yet on what the storyline will be for that film.
Lionsgate will take a page from THE TWILIGHT SAGA and stretch THE HUNGER GAMES for as much as they can. THE HUNGER GAMES: MOCKINGJAY PART 1 will hit theaters November 21, 2014 and THE HUNGER GAMES: MOCKINGJAY PART 2 on November 20, 2015. I am not a fan of releasing films that are a single narrative story one year apart. It has the distinct aroma of money-grubbing rather than creative reasoning.
It was kind of inevitable that THE HUNGER GAMES would happen, but seeing that NEED FOR SPEED will hit in 2 years is adding another big budget film to a calendar year that is shaping up to be pretty big for Disney.