Here’s a New ‘Mockingjay — Part 2’ Teaser…and the 'Hunger Games’ Cast’s Terrible Attempt at That Iconic Whistle
Things started out ominously at the Hunger Games panel at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con: A solemn drum corp entered the room and hammered a war beat. On a giant video screen, Resistance soldiers cocked their guns, and Katniss marched to the fore in a new teaser (see above).
And then Conan O’Brien came to the Hall H stage to make a few jokes about being pale enough to live in the District 13 bunker for the last 48 years.
It was a true mix of intense and goofy, and the fans — many of whom spent the night camping outside the San Diego Convention Center — lapped it up. After that bombastic intro, stars Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Willow Shields, director Francis Lawrence and producer Nina Jacobson marched to the dais to rapturous applause, and began discussing the final entry in the franchise: The Hunger Games: Mockingjay — Part 2. They also failed to mimic Rue’s Mockingjay whistle, as you can see in the delightful video below:
Don’t worry, they revealed some details from the film, too.
“This is where Katniss gets back into action,” director Francis Lawrence told the amped-up audience. “She was a bit sidelined in the last movie, and going through some of her issues. But this time she’s finally going after Snow and going into the Capitol with Squad 451.”
Then the first trailer for the film debuted, exclusively for the adrenaline-fueled crowd in San Diego. It opens on The Capitol, with President Snow (Donald Sutherland) growling at Katniss. “I’ve been watching you, and you’ve been watching me,” he says, equal parts regal and barbaric. “My dear Miss Everdeen, make no mistake — the games come to their end.“
The voiceovers continue, with Commander Paylor (Patina Miller) telling the Resistance soldiers to prepare to attack the Capitol in the morning. As we soon see though, President Snow has filled the Capitol with a minefield of traps to slow down the march of freedom, with plans of tearing the world down before the good guys can capture his stronghold.
The trailer then pulls back, and shows Finnick (Sam Claflin), looking toward the battle and welcoming Katniss to the 76th Hunger Games. That segues into Katniss leading an army into the Capitol. The walls begin to fall, oil bleeds out in a torrent, and hell breaks loose. But it’s worth it: Katniss declares that “Snow needs to pay for what he’s done.” Peeta, meanwhile, tells Katniss that if she kills Snow, “you end all of this, [and] all of those deaths — they mean something.”
After the trailer, things got a bit lighter, as the cast members engaged in their now-trademark banter. O’Brien, acting as moderator, read a number of questions provided by distributor Lionsgate — a fact he repeatedly pointed out — and immediately stumped Lawrence, who couldn’t come up with her favorite moment from filming the franchise. (A fan did yell out, “I love you Jennifer!” to which the star immediately responded, “Thank you, but that doesn’t help right now.”)
The joking continued, with Liam Hemsworth teasing an emotional scene between Gale and Peeta — “There may be a kiss between Josh and I” — which drew elated screams from the audience.
Things only got cozier. When describing the cast members’ emotional final day of shooting, Lawrence said: “We held each other for an hour. There’s no way of saying this that doesn’t start rumors, but that night we held each other and slept like puppies.”
Later, one fan asked Francis Lawrence about the film’s epilogue, and how it corresponded to the final chapter in the Mockingjay book. The panel was very spoiler-wary, but Lawrence handled it with aplomb.
“We made the books,” the director assured the fan. “Things change in adaptations — there will be some differences, but we wanted to make the books, and I think anyone who loved the end of the last book is going to love the movie.”
As for how she feels saying goodbye to the franchise that made her a superstar, Jennifer Lawrence got uncharacteristically sentimental.
“I don’t think it’s happened yet. These movies really did change my life. You guys challenged me. You did. I love you. I think the changes that happened in my life from doing these movies are so permanent, that I don’t think I’ll ever say goodbye. It feels like part of me.”
Celebrate Comic-Con with this superhero supercut:
