Francis Lawrence and Nina Jacobson reveal to EW what characters didn’t make it into Catching Fire.
Lawrence says he and Collins were always in agreement about what from the book needed to be distilled, though he was coy about cuts. When asked, for instance, whether we should expect to see Bonnie and Twill — the District 8 runaways Katniss stumbles upon in the woods who first alert her to both the rebellion she inadvertently sparked and the existence of District 13 — he at first demurred. “You’ve got to wait and see,” he urged. But when it was pointed out that there is in fact no Bonnie and Twill listed on the movie’s IMDB page, he gave it up. “Ah, right,” he said with a laugh. On how the movie will now introduce District 13, Lawrence would only say that “it was fun figuring out new ways around things and new ways of doing things.” With Bonnie and Twill gone, so too is the scene of Katniss scaling a tree and then leaping over District 12′s electrified fence. And Darius, District 12′s youngest peacekeeper who intervenes during Gale’s whipping and then sentenced to the life of an Avox, is another who didn’t make the leap from page to screen.
If the loss of Darius bums you out (and it should!), know at least that the filmmakers feel your pain. “It’s as agonizing for us to lose things from the book as it is for a fan,” says producer Nina Jacobson. “I want every single thing in there. But you know what? If you have to give up something in order to give more time to Katniss and Gale or to Effie as she starts to feel a conscience, you make the sacrifices in order to serve the characters and themes that are more essential.”
How do you feel about Bonnie, Twill and Darius not making the cut? I don’t think this is shocking news, though it’s always a little disappointing when characters don’t make it from page to screen. Let us know your thoughts in the comments sections below!