The Hunger Games: Mockingjay-Part 2 Toughens Up With Michelle Forbes
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Katniss Everdeen just got a tough as nails new ally in the battle against the corrupt and oppressive government of Panem. Michelle Forbes has just joined the cast of The Hunger Games: Mockingjay—Part 2. Forbes also recently boarded season two of BBC America’s Orphan Black, but has also has such nerdy TV faves as Star Trek: The Next Generation, Battlestar Galactica, and 24 on her resume. Then there’s The Killing, which is kind of like a zombie because it just won’t stay dead.
This piece of casting news came earlier via Twitter, announcing that Forbes will play Lieutenant Jackson. Check out the post here:
It's official! Please welcome Michelle Forbes as 'Lt. Jackson' to the cast of @TheHungerGames: Mockingjay Part 2. pic.twitter.com/gz1rv8K5j1
— Catching Fire (@TheHungerGames) May 6, 2014
Jackson isn’t a huge role, but she definitely plays a key part and eaves an impression. She is a soldier from District 13, part of Squad 451, also known the Star Squad because they appear on TV quite a bit—they also feature former tributes like Katniss, Gale, and Finnick Odair. Second in command, when Boggs, the leader, is killed, Jackson takes control of the unit. She also a key part of the eventual incursion into the Capital and helped Peeta recover his memories in the process. This should be a good showcase for Forbes’ skill set, playing a character that is tough and good in battle, but who can also be kind and compassionate when the situation arises.
Forbes joins a cast that includes familiar faces like Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Jena Malone, Sam Claflin, and Donald Sutherland. Other newcomers to the highly-profitable franchise include Julianne Moore, Mahershala Ali (Predators), Natalie Dormer (Game of Thrones), Gwendoline Christie (GoT), and Robert Knepper (Stargate Universe).
Split into two films, because that’s how a studio can squeeze another movie’s worth of revenue out a single book, the first chapter of Mockingjay hits on November 21, and Part 2 drops a year later. Frances Lawrence, who helmed Catching Fire, will serve the same role for both pieces of the puzzle. Based on the final installment of Suzanne Collins’ trilogy, the action picks up with Katniss—fully in the grip of a bout of PTSD—and company in District 13, which, according to the Capital, was destroyed in the earlier uprising. Turns out it wasn’t, and though they have a particular disdain for the Capital and want to destroy everything it stands for, they’re not exactly the good guys.
