Looks like it may be time to return to the Arena! Although Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games saga exists as a trilogy, it seems as though Lionsgate is not prepared to release their hold on the dangerous world of Panem just yet. Lionsgate’s original source material came to an explosive end in the saga’s newest film installment The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2; however, the company’s vice chairman Michael Burns has expressed a desire to expand the saga with a series of prequels.

Burns expressed his continued interest in the saga in a recent interview, providing some hints for fans about what may come from future installments. One possibility, he implied, was a trip in the past to explore previous Games.The chairman attributed the desire to a disconnect that younger fans expressed towards the final two The Hunger Games films when compared with the first two. “If we went backwards there would obviously be arenas,” he commented.

Although a return to the Arena may seem like a chilling path for the The Hunger Games saga to travel, Burns ensured fans that the blood and gore would not be the driving concept behind the films. “Whatever extensions of The Hunger Games brand we pursue, the intent is not to glorify violence by arbitrarily telling arena stories, but to continue Suzanne Collins’s exploration of the concepts of just war theory,” Burns claimed in an interview with Variety.

It is unclear exactly what path these prequels would take, though the proposal would release the franchise’s star-studded cast from future film obligations. While it is difficult to imagine the series without involvement from Jennifer Lawrence, it would be interesting to travel back in time to previous Games.

Although The Hunger Games is one of the best selling film franchises, with a box office gross of over $2.8 billion, it is worth mentioning that the film’s latest installment had the lowest premiere week sales to date. Whether this is related to the lack of arenas, angst over the decision to extend the trilogy into a four part film series, or an over-saturation with the world, we don’t know; time will only tell how future releases will perform!

What do you think about the prospect of additional films from Panem? Let us know below!