Comic-Congot off to a rousing start this year, with theHall Hpanel for Lionsgate’s highly-anticipated franchise finaleThe Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2, opening in theaters nationwide November 20. The panel essentially marks a farewell to the franchise, for now at least, since there have been rumblings of prequels and/or spinoffs being developed within this universe, created by authorSuzanne Collins. As expected, Lionsgate debuted a new trailer during the panel, but, unfortunately, it won’t be online for quite some time. But we do have a description of the footage that was shown.
The trailer opens outside of the Capitol, with President Snow (Donald Sutherland) discussing how he’s been watching over Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence), as we see her walk through a snow-filled garden with one white rose as a plane flies over the Capitol. For the first time in Panem history, the districts of Panem have been united to fight against Snow and the Capitol and bring their government down.Katnissis seen marching into the Capitol with a horde of followers at her side, down the same path from the firstHunger Games, where she became known as the Girl On Fire. But Katniss' war with Snow will not be easily won.
As Katniss begins her attack, we see the Capitol’s defenses, as Katniss and her army are trapped, with black tar pouring out of the buildings and machine guns firing at them, with these battle scenes interspersed with footage from a wedding, where Katniss is dancing with her sister Primrose (Willow Shields). The trailer ends with Peeta (Josh Hutcherson), finally reunited with Katniss, telling her how many people Snow has killed, and if she can take him down, those murders would count for something, and with Katniss uttering the chilling line “Tonight, turn your weapons to the Capitol! Turn your weapons to Snow!”
After the trailer debuted, the audience Q&A session began, whereJennifer Lawrencerevealed that she did keep a bow from the set, but she also wanted to keep the wedding dress, because it “was so understated.” When asked whatLiam Hemsworthwould say to Gale if they ever met, he replied, “It’s all right, mate. There are plenty of fish in the sea.“Jennifer Lawrencealso talked about how this fictional story resonates in today’s society.
“The beginning of this movie was one girl standing up to something huge and gigantic. All of these issues are very real. She was one girl. It was very scary, but she took into her own hands. The power of the future is with you and is in your hands.”
ProducerNina Jacobsonalso addressed how the ending was altered slightly from the book, to keep the story told from Katniss' perspective, with directorFrancis Lawrenceadding, “Things change in adaptations.” One of the lighter moments of the panel came when the cast was asked to all whistle the Mockingjay theme, although it didn’t turn out so well, withLiam Hemsworthstating, “I gotta be honest, every time I do it it comes out as The X-Files.”
Unfortunately, it isn’t clear when this trailer will debut, but the officialHunger Games Twitterfeed shared a number of images and videos from the panel, along with memorable quotes fromJennifer Lawrence,Josh Hutchersonand many more cast members. We’ll keep you posted as soon as the trailer comes online, but, for now, check out all of the photos and cast quotes from today’s panel.
