Gary Ross seemed positively ecstatic about returning to direct "Catching Fire," the sequel to "The Hunger Games," when Moviefone chatted with the director earlier this year.

"I'm looking forward to it," he said. "Simon Beaufoy ['Slumdog Millionaire'], who's a writer I've been a fan of for a long, long time, is doing the script. I can't write the 'Catching Fire' script right now because I'm finishing ['Hunger Games'], and we're on a schedule where the script has to get written right now. So I'm unbelievably fortunate that someone like Simon is going to be writing the script. [...] That's a thrill. He's somebody that I respect and I just love his work."

It looks like Ross will have to continue to respect and love Beaufoy's work from afar: according to Indiewire's blog The Playlist, Ross has decided against directing "Catching Fire."

Per the site, Ross's decision wasn't a monetary one, but a matter of not wanting to do the same thing over again. That flies in the face of reports from earlier this week, which revealed that negotiations between Ross and "Hunger Games" studio Lionsgate had gone south.

Ross was paid only $3 million to direct "The Hunger Games," which has earned $377 million worldwide since its release on March 23. The director will reportedly get a five-percent cut of the backend, but he wanted a significant raise for the second film, which is set to start shooting in August or September.

Before "The Hunger Games," Ross was best known for his work on "Seabiscuit" and "Pleasantville," as well as for writing the script to "Big." He was instrumental in casting Jennifer Lawrence in "The Hunger Games," and the actress said on numerous occassions how much she enjoyed working for him.

As reported earlier on Friday, Lawrence will have time in her schedule to return for "Catching Fire" this fall, since Fox moved its "X-Men" sequel -- which Lawrence will co-star in -- to January.

The Huffington Post has reached out to Ross' representatives, but they have yet to respond with confirmation.

"Catching Fire" is due in theaters on Nov. 22, 2013. If Ross is indeed out, the search for a new director begins yesterday.

早在《饑餓游戲》還未上映之時(shí)，獅門便公告了續(xù)集《星火燎原》即將啟動。據(jù)美國媒體最新報(bào)道，《饑餓游戲》的續(xù)集目前問題重重，不僅導(dǎo)演加里·羅斯因薪酬問題宣布了拒絕執(zhí)導(dǎo)該影片續(xù)集的消息，女主角詹妮弗·勞倫斯拍攝該續(xù)集的檔期也與《X戰(zhàn)警》的續(xù)集計(jì)劃出現(xiàn)了撞期問題，好在目前雙方已經(jīng)協(xié)調(diào)完畢，各自公布了續(xù)集的開拍時(shí)間（→相關(guān)閱讀："X戰(zhàn)警第一戰(zhàn)"續(xù)集明年1月開機(jī) 詹妮弗檔期繁忙）。

不過該片導(dǎo)演加里·羅斯卻表示，他“不想重復(fù)自己的職業(yè)生涯”，而拍攝《饑餓游戲》也沒能得到相應(yīng)的薪酬，但這只是他放棄執(zhí)導(dǎo)續(xù)集的其中一個原因，加里·羅斯正計(jì)劃開發(fā)一個新劇本。

目前，曾創(chuàng)作《貧民窟的百萬富翁》的西蒙·比尤弗伊已經(jīng)完成了續(xù)集《星火燎原》的劇本。獅門計(jì)劃在今年秋天正式開拍，該續(xù)集將于2013年11月22日上映。