Francis Lawrence talks Battlestar Galactica movie & More! In mid-2016, it was revealed that Universal Pictures had hired Hunger Games franchise director Francis Lawrence to helm a big-screen version of Battlestar Galactica, based on the original 1978 television series created by Glen A. Larson. Today, ComingSoon.net got to have an exclusive chat with Lawrence for his upcoming spy thriller Red Sparrow, and we discussed his plans for the iconic property, his childhood connection to it, as well as his failed Sgt.