As the big finale of The Hunger Games series, Mockingjay – Part II approaches, the studio is continuing to add hype to ensure big crowds are drawn to the much-anticipated final showdown between Katniss and The Capitol. In a clip that was sent exclusively to moviegoers who pre-ordered their tickets, we see Katniss and her team gearing up for the big fight.
The clip begins with Katniss being surprised by Finnick, who shows up to support Katniss and her team as they take on The Capitol. In a rare moment, Katniss is seen smiling as Finnick reveals he cut his prior plans short just so he could be there with her. This is definitely a different dynamic between the two, as their first few meetings were filled with misunderstanding and lack of trust.
Finnick joins Katniss and Gale, as they await instruction from the rest of the team in an army camp. Once the lead team arrives, they begin delegating people to teams and telling them their roles in the upcoming battle. However, Gale and Katniss look obviously displeased when they hear that they will be “four to five days behind combat.” This set-up will allow for them to be the “on-screen faces of the invasion,” notes Cressida (played by Game of Thrones star Natalie Dormer). She goes on to explain that Katniss and her close team will be the “star squad,” as it has been decided that they are most “effective” when simply seen by the masses, not actually amongst those fighting in the rebellion.
Immediately, Gale questions the superficial role he is being placed in, asking “so, we are not going to fight?” In which Boggs, who seems to play a big role in the organization of the invasion, quips back “you’ll do whatever you are ordered to do. It’s not your job to ask questions.” Gale reluctantly complies to Boggs orders.
Despite being days behind the real frontlines in the war, Boggs ensures the team that they will not be safe. Going on to explain, “this is a war zone. It is likely that we will encounter both active pods and peace keepers.” Shortly after, he makes it clear that Katniss and her close team are “high-value targets” and will face even greater risk on the battleground.
The clip finishes, with Boggs showing a new piece of high-tech equipment designed to show them all of the active pods in The Capitol. He explains that these active pods can set off a range of things, from “bombs to traps to mutts.” However, the specifics of what each pod contains is not relevant, because they are all designed to kill.
Finnick has the last words as he announces, “ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the 76th Hunger Games.”
This last installment in the series tells of the story of something bigger than simply the survival of lead heroine Katniss Everdeen. Mockingjay – Part II is about fighting The Capitol for the freedom and future of the districts. As the nation of Panem gear up for a full-scale war, Katniss confronts President Snow for a final showdown. Of course, joining her is a slew of familiar faces including Gale, Peeta and Finnick. Together they try and stage the assassination of the all-mighty President Snow, while having to survive the growing number of obstacles he is putting in their way.
Undoubtedly, Katniss is up against a much bigger challenge than anything she has faced previously in The Hunger Games arena.
Starring Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks, Julianne Moore, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Jeffrey Wright, Sam Claflin,Jena Malone, and Donald Sutherland.
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 is getting its big theatrical release on November 20th, 2015 and honestly, it will most likely be the box office hit that the studios are hoping for.
After a grueling 155 day shoot, the cast shared a little of what it felt like when it all came to an end.
“It was so emotional that I was completely numb and dead inside,” says Jennifer Lawrence.
“It felt really weird,” says Josh Hutcherson. Liam Hemsworth adds “I was drunk.”
And it turns out he was. According to Hutcherson, he and Hemsworth had wrapped their scenes the previous evening and celebrated by finishing a bottle of scotch between the two of them.
“Then [the next day] we came to the set because Jen and Woody [Harrelson] had a last scene together and we wanted to watch the last couple takes,” says Hutcherson.
“Then they called wrap,” continues Hutcherson, “and we kind of sat there on the steps in this room and we just held each other…”
According to Mockingjay director Francis Lawrence, the franchise’s producer caught a picture of the four of them right after wrap was called. “You can’t see their faces, but you just see them all hugging.”
There was then a celebration inside the courthouse in East Berlin where they were shooting, with a bunch of champagne and the whole cast and crew there to celebrate the end of an era.
Jennifer Lawrence confirms that’s exactly what happened. She adds, “And then a week later we were all together and we thought, ‘Was it weird that we got so dramatic?’”