After a couple of talking head viral teasers, we finally get our first glimpse of the situation in Panem in the new trailer for The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1. Based on the final installment of Suzanne Collins’s wildly popular series of Hunger Games novels, Mockingjay moves from the games arena to a full-on rebellion reluctantly led by Katniss Everdeen. Following the cliffhanger ending of Catching Fire, Katniss and her rebel cohorts organize and aggressively rise up against the tyrannical Capitol. Not particularly rebellious was Lionsgate’s decision to split the final book of the series into two movies, similar to other recent young adult franchises like Harry Potter and Twilight.
Jennifer Lawrence returns as Katniss, the heroine and face of the series. She’s joined by Hunger Games regulars Donald Sutherland, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks, and the late Philip Seymour Hoffman. Also returning is director Francis Lawrence, broadening the universe he established in Catching Fire. A few newcomers pop up in the trailer as well, including Julianne Moore as District 13 President, and Natalie Dormer as Cressida, a Capitol film director turned rebel.
Check out the trailer below:
Though it’s only a minute long and gently touches on potential plot twists and turns, the trailer captures the mood of a drab dystopia in the throes of revolution. A palette of browns and greys suggests an emphasis on the nuts and bolts of a chaotic upheaval, rather than cartoony politics that made up the budding conflict of the first two installments.
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 opens in theaters in the U.S. and the U.K. on November 21. For more international release dates, click here.
I, for one, have faith that Lawrence & Lawrence (Francis and Jennifer) can build on the momentum from Catching Fire and guide this franchise to a satisfying conclusion.
Are you excited about the direction of the series? Is your anticipation tempered with the story being split into two films?
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