Francis Lawrence

Francis Lawrence (born March 26, 1971) is an American filmmaker and producer. After establishing himself as a director of music videos and commercials, Lawrence made his feature-length directorial debut with the superhero thriller Constantine and has since directed the post-apocalyptic horror film I Am Legend (2007), the romantic drama Water for Elephants (2011), the dystopian science fiction adventure series The Hunger Games (2013–present), the spy thriller Red Sparrow (2018), and the dystopian horror drama The Long Walk (2025).

Early life Lawrence was born to American parents in Vienna, Austria. His father was a theoretical physicist who taught at California State University, Northridge, and his mother is a vice president of technology at a public-relations agency based in his hometown.

He moved to Los Angeles at the age of four. He has also directed numerous commercials for clients such as Coca-Cola, L'Oréal, Calvin Klein, Pepsi-Cola, Maybelline, Kid's Footlocker, Bacardi, McDonald's, GAP, Bud Light, CoverGirl, Oldsmobile, and Disneyland. In 2005, his feature-film debut was Constantine, based on the Hellblazer comic book, starring Keanu Reeves.

In 2007, he directed I Am Legend (based on the Richard Matheson novel), with Will Smith. In 2011, he directed Water for Elephants. In 2012, Lawrence directed and executive produced the pilot episode of the Fox paranormal series Touch. He is currently signed to DNA Inc. In 2011, he won a Grammy Award for Best Music Video, Short Form for directing Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance" music video.

In April 2012, Lionsgate announced that Lawrence had been selected to direct the film adaptation of the novel Catching Fire. The book and film were the sequel to the blockbuster hit The Hunger Games, starring Jennifer Lawrence (no relation). This film adaptation of The Hunger Games was directed by Gary Ross, and both novels were written by Suzanne Collins. Lawrence was officially confirmed as the director for the film on May 3, 2012.

He returned to direct the two final parts of the series, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 (2014) and Part 2 (2015). Lawrence is currently working on a film adaptation of the novel Survivor by Chuck Palahniuk.

Lawrence directed Red Sparrow, based on the novel of the same name by Jason Matthews, and featuring The Hunger Games star Jennifer Lawrence and Joel Edgerton. The film was released on March 2, 2018.

Lawrence signed on to direct The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, an adaptation of the Hunger Games prequel novel by original author Suzanne Collins, in April 2020. The film was released on November 17, 2023.

In March 2021, his about:blank production company struck a deal with New Republic Pictures. Their first project together will be an adaptation of the Philip K. Dick novel Vulcan's Hammer, announced in November 2021. In March 2022, it was announced that Lawrence would be directing a feature adaptation of Kevin J. Anderson and Steven L. Sears’ Stalag-X, to be written by Joy Wilkinson. In April 2022, it was announced that Lawrence will be one of the executive producers of Chief of War for Apple TV+.

In August 2022, TheWrap reported that Lawrence had signed with Netflix to direct an adaptation of BioShock, inspired by the 2K Games franchise. In September of the same year, Deadline reported that the director would also be returning to direct a sequel to Constantine.

In November 2023, it was announced that Lawrence would direct and produce The Long Walk for Lionsgate, based on the novel by Stephen King and published under the pseudonym "Richard Bachman". Production began in Manitoba in July 2024, with Cooper Hoffman, David Jonsson, Charlie Plummer, and Roman Griffin Davis among the cast. Most recently, the company had signed a first-look deal with Lionsgate to produce projects.

Filmography

Year Title Distributor 2005 Constantine Warner Bros. Pictures 2007 I Am Legend 2011 Water for Elephants 20th Century Fox 2013 The Hunger Games: Catching Fire Lionsgate 2014 The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 2015 The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 2018 Red Sparrow 20th Century Fox 2022 Slumberland Netflix 2023 The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes Lionsgate 2025 The Long Walk 2026 The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping