'Catching Fire' Trailer Shows Quarter Quell, New Rivals and Higher Stakes (VIDEO)
'You Fought Very Hard in the Games, Ms. Everdeen, But They Were Games,' Says President Snow
The "Catching Fire" trailer was released on Saturday at Comic-Con in San Diego and gave a glimpse into the much-anticipated sequel to "The Hunger Games." Now Katniss Everdeen must face growing civil unrest in the districts, a crumbling love triangle, and the Quarter Quell— another-life-or-death competition among victors of the Hunger Games every 25 years.
The "Catching Fire" trailer features Jennifer Lawrence reprising her role as Katniss Everdeen, who must now compete against battle-hardened winners of past Hunger Games. Her mentor Haymitch (Woody Harrelson) reminds her that previous games were nothing compared to the Quarter Quell, and President Snow, ruler of Panem, doesn't give Katniss much choice in the matter.
"You fought very hard in the games, Ms. Everdeen, but they were games. Would you like to be in a real war?" he asks her menacingly. "Imagine thousands of your people dead. Your loved ones, gone."
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Prim, Katniss' sister, tells her that her triumph in the previous Games has inspired "hope" among the oppressed in Panem, which has led to protests and clashes with military police. This leads Snow and Plutarch Heavensbee (Philip Seymour Hoffman) to come to one conclusion:
"She has to be eliminated," Heavensbee says.
Along with that, Katniss must also choose between her previous partner, Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson) and her longtime friend Gale Hawthorne (Liam Hemsworth) in a complicated love triangle with high stakes. Though the trailer reveals exciting parts of the third Quarter Quell— Katniss' outfit, the arena, tough competitors like Finnick Odair (Sam Claflin) and her new training are all shown, the film's focus seems to be more on the fate of Panem, the establishment, and the growing tension between the people and their leaders.
"Remember who the real enemy is," Haymitch says at the end of the trailer.
Elizabeth Banks, Lenny Kravitz, Stanley Tucci and Donald Sutherland will all return to the cast. "Catching Fire" is slated for release Nov. 22.
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