'Hunger Games: Catching Fire' Cuts 3 Book Characters For Film

Hunger Games: Catching Fire, the second movie installment in Suzanne Collins' Hunger Games series, will be without three memorable characters from the books.

The District 8 runaways, Bonnie and Twill, didn’t make the cut, neither did Darius – the peacekeeper in District 12 who intervenes on Gale’s behalf when he's being whipped and consequently condemns himself to the fate of an Avox. Bonnie and Twill were integral to Catching Fire. It was their chance meeting with Katniss in the woods that reveals the true existence of District 13. “It was fun figuring out new ways around things and new ways of doing things,” new director Francis Lawrence told Entertainment Weekly, referring to how the movie will now introduce the lost district.

After the peacekeeper Darius is sentenced to life as an Avox in Catching Fire, he serves Katniss and Peeta at the 3rd Quarter Quell. In Mockingjay, the series' third book, he is interrogated by the Capitol authorities in front of Peeta even though he can’t speak, and is eventually killed.

Producer Nina Jacobson wants fans to know that she dislikes cutting characters just as much as the fans dislike not seeing them in the adaptations of their favorite books. “It’s as agonizing for us to lose things from the book as it is for a fan,” Jacobson said. “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.”