VIDEO: Hunger Games director Francis Lawrence aiming to please with Mockingjay Part 2

As the final instalment of the Hunger Games franchise hits cinemas, director Francis Lawrence tells Ed Power why quality was as important for him as success

FRANCIS Lawrence responds more sharply than I had expected when I casually bring up his first film, the Keanu Reeves mega-flop Constantine. I’d wondered aloud whether he brought anything from the experience of overseeing that dour comic book adaptation to the three movies he has directed in the Hunger Games franchise, the last of which, Mockingjay Part 2, opens on Thursday.

“Constantine was my first movie but also my first foray into the world of the fanboy zone,” he says. “I was hired after Keanu. The biggest criticism we got was not having a blond Englishman be Constantine. And also because Keanu is not known for the sarcastic sense of humor that John Constantine has. There was nothing to do at that point — Keanu was one of the people hiring me. I embraced it.”