Just as we had predicted, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire trailer will air during the MTV Movie Awards. We thought we’d take a look at 12 scenes we’d like to see during the trailer which will air on Sunday, April 14. We should finally get some answers as to which of our favorite scenes made the movie and what director Francis Lawrence’s vision looks like during the MTV Movie Awards (and if that vision too involves a shaky cam).
With a 2 1/2 minute trailer, we expect that we will be seeing quite a few pivotal moments of the film (more than we would with an average length teaser trailer). As much as we hate trailers that show all of the good parts of a movie or give too many details away, here’s a list (in no particular order) of just a few of the scenes we want to see in the Catching Fire trailer.
1. A Montage of the Victory Tour
The victory tour takes up a sizeable amount of the book and really sets the stage for the events of the rest of the series. We’d really like to see a short montage of the victors in different districts because it’ll give the audience an idea of scope and preview some of the unrest.
2. District 11’s Salute and Ensuing Riot
Probably one of the most important scenes in Catching Fire, District 11’s salute and riot demonstrates how the districts have started to organize against the Capitol. Plus, it would mirror the salute in the trailer for the first movie which would be a really great throwback. More than anything though, it’s just a really powerful moment that we’ve been waiting to see since we read the book and saw District 11’s semi-riot in The Hunger Games.
3. President Snow in Katniss’s Study
This was the first scene in the book that really made our stomachs drop. We couldn’t imagine walking into our own houses and finding the most dangerous man in the country waiting for us. President Snow and Katniss’s restrained showdown in her study establishes the tone for the rest of the book. It shows us just how threatening President Snow can be, especially since it’s just a scene with the two talking.
4. The Wedding Photoshoot
We really just want to see all of the dresses. Plus, the trailer could show glimpses of the different dresses in between camera flashes, therefore slightly disorienting the audience but also conveying the idea that this photoshoot is anything but joyous. In order for this movie to work, we really need to see just how much Snow has intruded on and taken over Katniss’s life.
5. The Mockingjay Dress Reveal
Just as the “girl on fire” interview dress is one of the most iconic images in The Hunger Games, Katniss’s wedding-turned-mockingjay dress is one of the first things that pops into mind when thinking about the second book in the series. We’re just itching to know how the filmmakers are going to make this beautiful and intricately adorned wedding dress not only burst into flames (which is going to be AWESOME) but also become the symbolic mockingjay outfit. This dress seriously needs to make an appearance in the Catching Fire trailer.
6. Plutarch Showing the Pocketwatch
Again, this is one of the most memorable images in the book. Here’s a character that we really don’t know if we can trust until the very end and yet he’s flashing the symbol of the rebellion. Because this second film is really about the rapid spread of unrest and rebellion, the more mentions and displays of the mockingbird symbol, the better. (Especially since the symbol unfortunately wasn’t really explained in the first movie. We’re still a little disappointed about that.)
7. Finnick Offering His Sugar Cubes
What better way to introduce the fan favorite Finnick than with this fan favorite scene between a practically naked District 4 tribute and our heroine? Do we really need to explain our thought process behind wanting to see this scene? We didn’t think so.
8. The Victors Joining Hands After the Interviews
This is such a pivotal moment in the film because it demonstrates that even though these districts are pitted against each other, they are unified against a mutual enemy. It’s just such a powerful visual, especially since the tributes are no longer just children. The main reason we want to see this though is so that we can really see what all of the tributes look like. We can’t be the only ones who are curious as to what the morphlings look like.
9. The TV Special Announcing the Quarter Quell
The Quarter Quell announcement really changes everything. The tv footage is specifically designed to explain the Quarter Quell and is therefore the best way to explain the premise of the 75th Hunger Games to the Catching Fire trailer audience. If they don’t yet want to reveal the “pool of victors” twist, they can just cut straight to all of the characters’s reactions (like Katniss’s freakout) after President Snow opens the envelope. It won’t give away the plot twist but it will tell those who haven’t read the books that something horrible is going to happen.
10. Gale’s Whipping
While we definitely don’t want to see the entire scene or the most emotional parts of the scene, we would like to see a little bit of it. This scene raises the stakes. Even just a taste of it in the teaser trailer would really convey the book’s sense of urgency. Above all else, it’s one of Gale’s most important scenes in the series and so it deserves emphasis.
11. Wiress repeating “Tick tock”
“Tick tock” gets repeated so many times while the characters are in the arena. How can it not make the teaser trailer? The arena’s clock face is a big reveal in the book but, if anything, the phrase “tick tock” could also be a sort of allusion to the fact that the revolution is coming.
12. “You’re the mockingjay, Katniss. While you live, the revolution lives.”
This line is one of the most important parts of the book. It practically defines the series. It has to be in the trailer. Has to. It would work even if set against a completely black screen. If it was excluded from the Catching Fire trailer, we’d be very surprised, not to mention upset.