Due to the tragic death of Philip Seymour Hoffman earlier today, many people were left wondering what would happen with The Hunger Games: Mockingjay. The actor was set to reprise his role as Gamemaker Plutarch Heavensbee in Francis Lawrence’s upcoming sequel, the first part of which is set to release on November 21st, 2014 with the follow-up set to hit theatres one year later on November 20th, 2015.
Though we didn’t know at the time of his death whether or not he had completed shooting his scenes, Deadline is giving us an update on the matter. Apparently, Hoffman wrapped the Part 1 shoot already and had about a week left for Part 2. We don’t have any details on how the studio will go about finishing off the film now that the actor has passed away, but his death will not have an impact on the release date of either film.
Lionsgate hasn’t commented on the issue yet but they did release a statement a few hours ago expressing their condolences to the actor’s family.
”Philip Seymour Hoffman was a singular talent and one of the most gifted actors of our generation. We’re very fortunate that he graced our Hunger Games family. Losing him in his prime is a tragedy, and we send our deepest condolences to Philip’s family,” said the studio.
Universal faced a similar situation earlier this year when Paul Walker passed away and they chose to retire the character. Obviously, Lionsgate can’t do that as Heavensbee has a huge role in the story and they can’t exactly change what was written in the book. Hopefully they can just work a bit of movie magic in post-production and complete the film in a respectful manner. We’ll have to wait and see though.
Tell us, what do you think Lionsgate will do in regards to the scenes that Philip Seymour Hoffman hadn’t shot yet on The Hunger Games: Mockingjay?
