Francis Lawrence to direct final 'Hunger Games' chapters

The second installment for the four-part The Hunger Gamesseries may just be getting underway, but already battle lines are being drawn for the final two chapters.

Lionsgate announced Thursday that Francis Lawrence will direct The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 and Part 2, which will conclude a series whose opener, directed by Gary Ross, has earned $700 million worldwide since opening last spring.

Lawrence, whose credits include Water for Elephants and I Am Legend, is just beginning production of Catching Fire, the second chapter of the saga, opening Nov. 22, 2013.

Mockingjay will follow Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) as she leads a rebellion against the tyrannical Capitol. Part 1 hits theaters Nov. 21, 2014 and Mockingjay - Part 2 opens Nov. 20, 2015.

Already the action is heating up on the set of Catching Fire. Liam Hemsworth, who plays Gale Hawthorne, told Paste BN last month that he had twisted his knee doing a fighting stunt.

"There's a bunch of action in this one," Hemsworth said. "All of the characters have more action than they did in the first one."