There’s a change being made in the cast for The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2, the second of the movies spawned from Suzanne Collins’ third novel. A scheduling clash has forcedLily Rabe to drop out, but the team has found an excellent replacement: Game Of Thrones’ Gwendoline Christie will step in.
Christie, who is best known as warrior Brienne of Tarth in Thrones, is now set to play Commander Lyme in the final film. Lyme shows up in Mockingjay as the leader of the rebellion in District 2, one of the earliest territories to show defiance towards the Capitol.
She is also a former victor of the Games, though she entered the arena a generation ago and served as a mentor to those from District 2 who followed her. She becomes a key part of the assault along with the forces from her District.
**Catching Fire **director Francis Lawrence is working on both movies, which features veterans Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks and some new faces including Julianne Moore and one of Christie’s fellow Thrones thesps, Natalie Dormer.
The team is also figuring out how to create the final few shots required for the late Philip Seymour Hoffman’s role as Plutarch Heavensbee. Game Of Thrones, meanwhile, returns to UK screens tomorrow night, April 7 following its US debut on April 6 (though Sky Atlantic is also planning to simulcast the show at 2:00am in the UK).