Lionsgate is forgoing a big, splashy panel for The Hunger Games at Comic Con this year, though I expect we'll be seeing some kind of low-key marketing for the big new franchise at the Con. In the meantime, though, they've debuted a very small but very cool little teaser, a motion poster that popped up at Yahoo! Movies and you can also see below. Take a look.



If you're not familiar with the series of books by Suzanne Collins, that gold logo you see there is a replica of the pin worn in the book by our heroine, Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence), who is sent along with 23 other teenagers from around the country to fight one another in The Hunger Games. The Games are a yearly event, serving both as entertainment and a cruel reminder from the all-powerful Capitol that they can completely dominate the people living in the 12 Districts that make up the country, formerly known as the United States, now called Panem. Katniss wears the pin, which depicts a bird called the Mockingjay, during the games, and while in the first book The Hunger Games it's merely a token, in the two sequels Mockingjay and Catching Fire it becomes a potent symbol. Seeing the pin on fire in this poster seems more of a reference to the events in the second two books, but given that Lionsgate has big plans for this as the next big franchise, I suppose it's no surprise. Plus, it makes a really cool image for a motion poster.

As for that tagline, "May the odds be ever in your favor," it's a repeated phrase said to the kids who are up for the drawing that might send them into the Hunger Games, and something Katniss and her childhood best friend Gale (Liam Hemsworth) repeat to each other ironically. It also makes for a very menacing movie tagline-- even if you're not familiar with the books, you get the sense that the odds probably aren't going to be in your favor after all. The Hunger Games comes to theaters on March 23 next year-- according to the countdown on the official website, that's just 248 days away! We'll keep an eye out for more marketing on the floor at Comic Con, and I have to assume this motion poster is only the beginning of what will be a careful campaign over the next year.