8 things we learned at the ‘Hunger Games’ panel

We left Peeta in an awful predicament - brainwashed through a toxic venom to harm Katniss Everdeen - during the cliffhanger ending of “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1.” What’s left for Katniss and the rest of the crew is going to finally be decided in an epic episode that will bring a close to the series when the film is released Nov. 19.

Here are eight things we learned at “Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2” panel at Comic-Con on Thursday.

Warning: Some spoilers ahead ...

1 ‘She finally takes control’

Katniss Everdeen will be taking a more independent role - a little different persona than we are used to seeing her in the prior film. “This is where Katniss gets back into action. She gets to go after David and we get some real battle footage. It’s some real exciting stuff,” said director Francis Lawrence. Added producer Nina Jacobson: “There’s always somebody calling for the shots for Katniss, and this is the story where she finally takes control of her own story and destiny. She makes decisions for herself. I think watching a woman truly coming into her own and making choices for herself, that for me is very satisfying.”

View the photo gallery: The Hunger Games Panel

2 ‘Beat the enemy’

Gale Hawthorne is now more important now than ever before in the past films. “You know Gale’s been on the sidelines for a long time now. He’s a part of the military uprisings to take over the Capitol. So he comes up with strategies to come up with to beat the enemy,” said the actor who portrays Hawthorne, Liam Hemsworth.

3 ‘Been pretty crazy’

While Primrose Everdeen has taken care of Katniss for a large part of the series, this will not be the case in Part 2. Actress Willow Shields said she’s going to miss her, though: “All of a sudden Prim has grown up and become a stronger character. She’s almost taken care of Katniss in a way. It’s been really fun to play her and see how she’s evolved over five years now. I started doing this when I was 10 and now I am 15 so it’s been pretty crazy.”

4 ‘Deliver on the emotion and on the politics of it’

This film will be one of the most emotional movies of the series. “It’s been emotional for all of us,” Jacobson said. “We want to deliver on the emotion and on the politics of it - all of the things Suzanne (Collins) had to say on our culture. So it’s been a combination of wanting to nail it in terms of theme, character and story.”

5 ‘Long road to recovery’

The story picks up right where “Mockingjay - Part 1” left off. Conan: “When we last left Peeta, he was not Katniss’ biggest fan - choking the life out of somebody - that was such a traumatic ending to the last film, where do you go from there? Josh Hutcherson (Peeta): “It’s a long road to recovery. He’s trying to get himself back.”

6 ‘Breath of fresh air’

The film was shot out of the country for the first time. “It was very complicated, but it was interesting because we had a big shift. We went from Atlanta to Europe. And so to leave Atlanta created a kind of different environment for all of us going from old abandoned warehouses and such to exotic places like Paris. It was really a breath of fresh air,” said Lawrence, the director.

7 What is Katniss up to?

Katniss will be leading the rebellion against the Capitol, which was shown in the new trailer. She was dressed in a stunning red robe leading a band of soldiers in white armor, much like Capitol soldiers. Could she be leading a rebellion? We are not sure.

8 ‘The game is coming to an end’

Epic quotes from the trailer: “Snow has to pay for what he’s done,” Katniss said. President Snow responds: “Make no mistake, the game is coming to its end.”

Source: DiscoverSD