In addition to a literary legacy, a strong female lead, handsome male stars and PG-13 action, “Twilight” fans have yet another reason to go see “Hunger Games” on opening weekend in March. The long-awaited trailer for the supernatural romance series’ final film, “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part II” will debut in front of theatrical screenings of “Games.”
With promotional effort focusing on both the film’s fantasy action scenes and its young adult love triangle (Are Katniss and Peeta really falling for each other, or will she go back home to Gale?), Lionsgate is courting the same audience Summit so successfully did with the $1 billion “Twilight” franchise. The synergistic move comes as no surprise — they recently announced a made-in-heaven merger.
“Breaking Dawn Part II” doesn’t open until November 16, but fans will surely flock to “Hunger Games” in droves to catch early glimpses of Bella (Kristen Stewart), Edward (Robert Pattinson) and Jacob (Taylor Lautner), before choosing Team Gale (Liam Hemsworth) or Team Peeta (Josh Hutcherson). Katniss is being played by Oscar nominee Jennifer Lawrence (“Winter’s Bone,” “X-Men: First Class”).
The film, adapted from the first of three books by Suzanne Collins and directed by Gary Ross (“Seabiscuit”), also stars Woody Harrelson, Lenny Kravitz, Stanely Tucci, Elizabeth Banks and Donald Sutherland.
“Hunger Games” opens nationwide March 23.