The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Casting Round-Up
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While The Hunger Games: Catching Fire opens in theaters at the end of November, production has recently started on its sequel, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1. Julianne Moore recently joined an already all-star cast including Jennifer Lawrence, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Woody Harrelson, and the rest of the cast of Mockingjay continues to fill out for the first half of the epic climax of The Hunger Games film series.
According to Variety, Wes Chatham and Elden Henson have been cast in the Hunger Games sequel. Chatham will play the character of Castor, while Henson will play Pollux. Castor and Pollux are brothers and cameramen to the Capitol’s premiere film director, Cressida (Natalie Dormer). Both are key members of the rebellion against President Snow (Donald Sutherland) and District 1.
Wes Chatham appeared in the films In the Valley of Elah, Oliver Stone’s W., and the Academy Award-winning The Help. Elden Henson is best known for playing Fulton Reed, one half of the Bash Brothers, in the Mighty Ducks film series. Henson also appeared in The Butterfly Effect, She’s All That, and the prequel Dumb & Dumberer: When Harry Met Lloyd.
/Film reports that Patina Miller, Mahershala Ali, and Omid Abtahi have been cast in Mockingjay as well. Miller will play Commander Paylor, the leader of rebel forces in District 8, while Ali will play Boggs, Alma Coin’s (Julianne Moore) right-hand man and Katniss Everdeen’s later-protector. Omid Abtahi will take up the role of rebel soldier Homes, an expert sharpshooter. The new cast additions will be joining Natalie Dormer, Evan Ross, and Australian actor Stef Dawson in The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Parts 1 and 2.
Patina Miller received a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her role as the Leading Player in the 2013 revival of Pippin, while Mahershala Ali appeared in David Fincher’s The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and recently appeared in Netflix’s House of Cards and the indie film The Place Beyond the Pines. Omid Abtahi appeared in the Academy Award-winning film Argo for director Ben Affleck and the video games Spec Ops: The Line and Call of Duty: Black Ops II.
Director Francis Lawrence has his work cut out for him because, while he’s busy editing together and putting the final touches on Catching Fire, he will also be prepping and shooting Mockingjay, which should be in its second month of production when Catching Fire premieres in November.
WARNING: SPOILERS FOR THE HUNGER GAMES: MOCKINGJAY AND CATCHING FIRE BELOW
After being disqualified in the Third Quarter Quell in Catching Fire, Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) becomes the face of the revolution against the Capitol and President Snow. Gale Hawthorne (Liam Hemsworth) also ascends to a new leadership role with the rebellion, as Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson) continues to be a victim of President Snow’s manipulative brainwashing. It’s unclear where Mockingjay will be split for Parts 1 and 2, but the popular belief is that the first part will end before the revolutionaries invade the Capitol. It would make for a thrilling cliffhanger before the second half of the climax.
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire will hit theaters on November 22. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 will open on November 21, 2014, and Part 2 on November 20, 2015. All three films will be presented in glorious IMAX.
