Director Says THE HUNGER GAMES: MOCKINGJAY Parts 1 & 2 Are "Two Distinct Stories"

We got some brief details from The Hunger Games: Mockingjay director Francis Lawrence a few days ago, and now Entertainment Weekly has some more info on the anticipated two-part finale. He says it's "a very confusing, conflicted, complicated time" for lead character Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence): "Having gone through the games one more time and having lost Peeta and having been run through the wringer, she's even more damaged. So you find her in a more agitated place. She’s distraught, confused, angry," the director adds. As with all book-to-movie adaptions, there will be changes, but nothing major enough to completely shift the narrative - rather, expand the story. "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," Lawrence says. "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."

Lawrence says the concluding chapters will have a more sombre and gritty tone than previous statements, buts explains that Part 1 and Part 2 of Mockingjay will be "two different, very distinct stories. Those objectives became the motives for us. This is where the meaning of the entire series comes into play. The answer to why these books exist exists in Mockingjay, and that’s really been exciting to me. That’s been kind of what I’ve hung on to through these stories." But don't fret, there will be action, with the scale and scope of the films ramping up significantly. "There's definitely some battles. There's some of the first glimpses of real war in [Part 1]," he reveals. "There’s an atonal shift from some of the last movies, but they’re still very emotional, very sweeping, [on a] grand scale with some levity and humor." The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 hits theatres November 21st, 2014, with the second part arriving next year.