Meanwhile, production on the North Carolina set has recently shifted from the ferocious arena scenes to the creepily garish world of the Capitol.

“We’ve already done a lot of action-y stuff,” says Ross. “We’ve burned down a forest, we’ve had the fire sequence, we blew up this pyramid of stuff that went 150 feet up in the air, and we had suitcases flying over a quarter of a mile.”

While Ross says the high-octane action has been a thrill, he remains most turned on by the story’s emotional core. “I think it’s the power of Jennifer’s acting that’s the most moving to me,” he says. “That’s the stuff that knocks me out.”