Though it was sad to see Gary Ross leave the Hunger Games franchise after only one film, I was excited to see what the director would choose as his follow-up in the wake of the massive success of that franchise-starter.  He circled a few projects, including the adventure film The Secret Life of Houdini and a Peter Pan prequel called Peter and the Starcatchers, and it now appears that Ross has settled on the latter as his post-Hunger Games directorial project.  Hit the jump for more.

Gary Ross earned some clout when after directing the The Hunger Games, and while he didn’t return to direct the sequel due to the studio’s desire for a quick turnaround, he’s got other potential projects on the horizon.  We previously reported that he was in talks to helm an adaptation of The Secret Life of Houdini, and now THR reports that he’s circling an adaptation of Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson‘s 2004 children’s adventure novel, Peter and the Starcatchers.

Hit the jump for more.

20th Century Fox is looking to schedule a Playdate.  The family-friendly pitch will be written by Tim Hill (Hop) and Dave Johnson, with Hill in line to direct.  Though the plot is being kept quiet at the moment, as Deadline reports, the title is fairly revealing.  The Alvin and the Chipmunks director has a long history of writing for children’s television series (Rocko’s Modern Life, SpongeBob SquarePants) and is set as the director for Dimenson Films’ remake of Short Circuit.

Fans of Peter Pan will want to hit the jump for information regarding the adaptation of the Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson novel series, Peter and the Starcatchers.

While Sony recently picked up an awful-sounding Peter Pan prequel starring Channing Tatum to the tune of $1 million, Disney is considering its own Pan prequel and it sounds far more promising.  Disney chief Bob Iger recently told shareholders that the studio is considering an adaptation of Dave Berry and Ridley Pearson’s Peter and the Starcatchers, which sets Peter and his lost boys as the pirates instead of against the pirates.  Said Iger:

“We considered making [it] a movie,” Iger said, noting they went as far as hiring a screenwriter to adapt the book. “We haven’t made a decision on that yet.”

The Wrap reports that Disney has been testing the material Off Broadway production at the New York Theater Workshop to see if it will translate into feature film.  According to New York Times theater critic Ben Brantley, the play is a huge success.  Hit the jump for a synopsis of Peter and the Starcatchers and some images from the Off Broadway production.