Manny The Movie Guy /

Awwww...Mister Gary Ross, the guy who gave us the fantastic book-to-film adaptation of "The Hunger Games" has left the building.

It was a big speculation that Ross might not return for the sequel, "Hunger Games: Catching Fire," because of money, but many insiders are now saying, it's more than financial reasons.

In a statement released by the studio, via the LA Times, Ross said, "As a writer and director, I simply don't have the time I need to write and prep the movie I would have wanted to make because of the fixed and tight production schedule."

Ah, it's the good old production schedule. Which sort of make sense. First, Jennifer Lawrence aka Katniss is contractually obligated to return to the role of Mystique for the sequel to "X-Men: First Class." With the success of "The Hunger Games," Fox wanted to capitalize on its popularity and demand that Lawrence return to the "X-Men" franchise pronto, like by the fall. A move that surprised many since the sequel does yet have a release date or completed script.

And that of course, would force Ross to ready the preproduction touches of the film in just four months. Simon Beaufoy wrote the script and Ross wanted to rewrite the draft like what he did in the original. And I think it worked well in the first film.

Another factor was that the Lionsgate folks whom Ross worked with before, are not the same suits that he's dealing with now. When Summit and Lionsgate merged, a mini-dystopia was created. But Summit, who famously dumped Catherine Hardwicke after the successful first "Twilight" film, succeeded in carrying the brand all the way to the end (well, almost, we'll still see the Part 2 of "Breaking Dawn" in November).

So where does that leave us "Hunger Games" fans? Back to the drawing board with prayers that Lionsgate chooses another director to match Ross' vision. I'm hoping and praying that it will be Kathryn Bigelow, the director who gave us the brilliant "The Hurt Locker."