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'Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2' Gets Fantastic Series Finale Trailer

This article is more than 8 years old.

The possibly final trailer for The Hunger Games cinematic franchise ("We March Together") sends the marketing campaign out in high style.

I assumed that this trailer, which is presumably the one that played at SDCC last month, would be the final theatrical trailer for the final film in the Hunger Games series. But that Lions Gate Entertainment dropped it online this early, presumably for the opening weekend of Sony's  Pixels or next weekend with Paramount/ Viacom Inc's  Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation, means that they will have more than enough time between now and November 20th to drop another trailer, perhaps attached to something like Walt Disney's  Bridge of Spies or Universal/ Comcast Corp.'s Jem and the Holograms. But if this is the end, it certainly feels like a "last trailer for the last movie" sell.

But no matter, this is a fantastic and action-packed "the end of the end" trailer that stands proud alongside a solid legacy of "series finale" teasers. It may not be as grand as the final drops for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part II or The Dark Knight Rises, but it darn well gets the blood pumping and successfully makes the whole "epic conclusion to the global phenomenon" pitch. I can only hope that the tease is not too spoilerly, and since I have not read the book I can only go on faith that the material is mostly culled from the first half of the film.

It certainly doesn't give the game away, as did the final trailer to The Matrix Revolutions, but nor is it somewhat obtuse as was the moving trailer for The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King and the genuinely powerful final trailer for The Dark Knight Rises (I only wish I got that much of a rush from the actual movie, but I digress). There isn't that much more to say at this point, as I've been writing about the marketing for The Hunger Games for well over three years running. Any final thoughts on the campaign can wait until closer to the release date, if only to make sure that the House That Jigsaw Built doesn't trip in the final lap.

As noted previously, if Mockingjay part 2 crosses $400 million domestic, it will be the first franchise in history to have three $400m-grossing installments (not accounting for inflation of course), although it will soon likely be joined by Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Avengers: Infinity War part I when the time comes.

Anyway, this is a terrific piece of marketing and an exciting piece of stand-alone entertainment. So far, so good, but I'm expecting Lionsgate to bring this one home in style.  The Hunger Games: Mockingjay part II opens on November 20th, 2015 in 2D and glorious IMAX 2D in America (and 3D and IMAX 3D in other overseas markets). It is directed by Francis Lawrence and stars Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Donald Sutherland, Julianne Moore, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Sam Claflin, Elizabeth Banks, Jena Malone, Jeffrey Wright, and Stanley Tucci. As always, we'll see.

 

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