A yearlong wait has become the industry standard between penultimate and ultimate, a practice that was used for the pre-Thanksgiving releases of the last two “Twilight” episodes, continued through the “Hobbit” and “Hunger Games” series, and may well hold for the final films of the “Divergent” franchise, which are scheduled for release in 2016 and 2017.

Image Francis Lawrence Credit... Murray Close

How do filmmakers take part of a story and make it seem whole, all while building up excitement for a finale that audiences won’t get to see for quite some time?

For Francis Lawrence, director of “Mockingjay” Parts 1 and 2, it can be a daunting proposition. “We were all huge fans of ‘Breaking Bad,' ” he said, adding that you can take big chances “with an end of an episode when you only have to make people wait a week.” But “making people wait a year, you have to tread a little more carefully.”

One trick is creating a cliffhanger that really doesn’t feel like one, or avoiding that gasp-inducing gambit altogether. “You’re really looking at the overall story,” Mr. Lawrence said. “You know eventually that Katniss and Snow” — the president of Panem — “will have their day, so we’re slowly building to that. You’re keeping their relationship alive and their connection alive. Those are the things that are really important in building up for Part 2.”

Cliffhangers can also seem outdated. They hark back to the days of the old radio dramas, and before that, to Dickens and, yes, Scheherazade, even Homer. There’s also the danger of looking too much like episodic TV.