The Hunger Games Mockingjay Release Date, Latest News: Parts 1 and 2 Will Have Different Stories; Julianne Moore’s Character Will Be Expanded Than In The Book

By Kara Michelle Aug 20, 2014 07:51 AM EDT

Mockingjay Latest News: Parts 1 and 2 Will Have Different Stories; Julianne Moore's Character Will Be Expanded Than In The Book

The film adaptation of Hunger Games: Mockingjay, the third book in Suzanne Collins The Hunger Games trilogy, will comprise of two separate movies - The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part I which will be released on November 21, 2014, and The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part II which will show in theaters on November 20, 2015. Both Parts I and II of the Mockingjay story will be directed by Francis Lawrence from a screenplay written by Danny Strong and Peter Craig.

Both Parts I and II will also have basically the same cast, led by Jennifer Lawrence as main protagonist Katniss Everdeen, along with Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks, Julianne Moore, Jeffrey Wright, Jena Malone, Sam Claflin, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Stef Dawson, Willow Shields, and Donald Sutherland. Filming of Part I of the two-part finale is proceeding back-to-back with Part II. However, Academy Award-winning Hoffman died of an apparent drug overdose with still seven days of shooting left on his Part II scenes. It is not yet clear how his death will affect the two films, but both installments will be released as previously scheduled according to studio sources.

Director Lawrence, in a talk with Entertainment Weekly, said that Parts I and II will "have two distinct stories." He also said that while there won't be any major changes from the novel, there will be new elements in the film adaptation that will "surprise even fans of the book."

"Instead of changing the plot and changing characters, what we did was have the opportunity to show scenes that could have been happening at different times in the book. For us, it's world expansion instead of changing things. I think it's exciting for the fan to see certain things. So we've been able to open the world up in this and see some new places. We get to see some new districts this time and the scope gets quite large," Lawrence told Entertainment Weekly.

Regarding Julianne Moore's character, rebel President Alma Coin, Lawrence said, "What's interesting is although she's a huge character in Mockingjay the book, there's actually very little of her in it. There's more of her in this [film adaptation] than in the book, and because of that, there's some development. I think the character has developed into something pretty amazing. And Julianne was a big part of that."