Mass hysteria ensued following last weekend's debut of "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire" trailer. Diehard fans have watched the trailer over and over again, analyzing every screen shot and drooling over their favorite characters. Amidst the excitement however, one of the film's biggest stars may have gotten a bit overzealous with his work.
Sam Clafin, who plays the beloved Finnick Odair, broke his hand while practicing a stunt for "The Hunger Games." Filming for "Catching Fire" has already wrapped, but the injury could prove detrimental for production on "Mockingjay," the third installment of "The Hunger Games" saga, which begins in September.
During an interview with E! News, co-star Alan Ritchson, who plays Gloss, talked about the tragic incident. "Sam got hurt the worst," he said. "He broke his hand doing a stunt. It was a rehearsal, so we weren't even shooting. He broke it on the stunt guy, warming up. I was standing right next to him."
Ritchson added that although it was difficult to watch, Clafin took it "like a champ," which sounds a bit reminiscent of his "Hunger Games" counterpart, Finnick. If he does take a page from Finnick's book, Clafin will be ready to go in no time. How could he leave fans so high and dry? We just got our first official taste of "Catching Fire." He can't back out now that "Mockingjay" is in the oven.
Production Weekly tweeted that filming for "Mockingjay" would begin September 16 in both Atlanta and Boston. The third and final "Hunger Games" novel will be divvied up into two separate movies.
@prodweek: "THE HUNGER GAMES: MOCKINGJAY Part 1 is scheduled to begin production September 16th with locations in Atlanta and Boston"
"Catching Fire" was filmed in Georgia, in and around Atlanta, and also out in Hawaii late last year for the water-based Quarter Quell scenes. The "Catching Fire" director, Francis Lawrence, has also signed on to work on both Mockingjay installments.
"The Hunger Games: Catching Fire" will hit theaters November 22 with part one of "Mockingjay" arriving just a year later. Let's hope that Clafin fully recovers in time. Who could replace Finnick Odair? In the meantime, check out the new "Catching Fire" trailer below.