'X-Men' production date forced Gary Ross out of 'Catching Fire'

Gary Ross' exit from the Hunger Games sequel Catching Fire sent waves of shock throughout the blogosphere. From Nikki Finke's Toldja! vehemently denying the rumors, then confirming it days later, but the real reason has been confirmed by an exclusive scoop at Latino Review.

Contrary to what The Playlist said, Ross withdrew from the production because he wouldn't be able to complete filming on a rushed production with a firm release date set. LR confirms that due to Jennifer Lawrence's sequel clause for X-Men: First Class taking first prescient over Hunger Games, Lionsgate's bond company had to guarantee a summer production start and complete filming on Catching Fire by December 20th before Lawrence had to commit for the X-Men sequel, which begins shooting January 2013. (Hence my colleague Jamie confirming the X-Men production delay Fox made with Lionsgate to ensure that Lawrence could do both movies.)

The race is still on for Lionsgate to find a replacement director for Catching Fire, which will release November 22, 2013. Fox will release the X-Men: First Class sequel in summer 2014.