The Hunger Games was the third highest grossing film of 2012 beating out gigantic (and expected) hits like the final Twilight film, the first Hobbit, the latest Bond and the Spider-Man reboot. Hurray for originality!
The film, based on the novels by Suzanne Collins, followed a teenager in a dystopian future where people are saddled with ridiculous names and a government that controls people through fear, force and dietary restrictions. Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) finds herself in a televised competition to the death meant to distract the masses from their real miseries, and she surprises everyone involved by winning.
The new film, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, picks up the story with Katniss and her friend/co-victor Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson) dethroned and forced to fight again by a president (Donald Sutherland) concerned that the duo are waking the sleeping populace towards rebellion.
Also, I was mostly kidding about it ripping off Battle Royale II.
Check out the first trailer for Catching Fire below.
Am I missing it or is there not a single person on fire in this trailer?
Director Francis Lawrence (I Am Legend) has taken the reins from Gary Ross, and while it’s impossible to judge a film’s heart or emotional successes through a trailer there’s no denying he’s crafted a solid-looking movie. Elizabeth Banks, Woody Harrelson and Stanley Tucci are all back for some flamboyantly-costumed fun, but they’re immediately upstaged by newcomer Philip Seymour Hoffman as conniving Plutarch Heavensbee. Regardless what you thought of the first film this cast is certainly nothing to sneeze at.
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire opens November 22nd, 2013.