'The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1' Teaser: A Message From The Capitol

The Lionsgate marketing team continues to knock it out of the park with the first The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 teaser. Rather than dishing out the usual 20-second melange of explosions and one-liners, they've delivered a beautifully creepy piece of Capitol propaganda, read by President Snow (Donald Sutherland) himself.

At first, the video seems innocuous enough, with Snow extolling the virtues of peace and unity and whatnot. Then the camera pulls back to reveal his new friend, and... well, see for yourself. Hit the jump for the full The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 teaser.

Sure, we can complain that this ad doesn't reveal much about the overall plot of The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1, or offer even the briefest glimpse of our main character, but with five long months to go until the film opens, there'll be time enough for that stuff later. For a first teaser, this is impressively effective and original.

Snow may look like a slightly crankier version of Santa, but as his address makes clear, he's not screwing around when it comes to Katniss and the other rebels. Peeta's appearance is guaranteed to send a chill down Katniss's spine. It definitely sent one down mine.

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1 opens November 21, 2014. Francis Lawrence directed. Jennifer Lawrence,  Josh Hutcherson, and many others star.

The worldwide phenomenon of The Hunger Games continues to set the world on fire with The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1, which finds Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) in District 13 after she literally shatters the games forever. Under the leadership of President Coin (Julianne Moore) and the advice of her trusted friends, Katniss spreads her wings as she fights to save Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) and a nation moved by her courage. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 is directed by Francis Lawrence from a screenplay by Danny Strong and Peter Craig and produced by Nina Jacobson's Color Force in tandem with producer Jon Kilik. The novel on which the film is based is the third in a trilogy written by Suzanne Collins that has over 65 million copies in print in the U.S. alone.