Boy, make $400 million at the box office and everyone wants to hop on your franchise. Young Adult adaptation “The Hunger Games” hit last year and it hit big, making a bigger star of Jennifer Lawrence and establishing a giant money magnet for Lionsgate in the process. The sequels were immediately set up with Lawrence and co-stars Woody Harrelson and Josh Hutcherson returning, with director Francis Lawrence at the helm.
Then Philip Seymour Hoffman joined the cast of “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire,” which turned my head. I wasn’t a fan of the first film but I’m somehow anticipating the sequel, and Hoffman was a big reason why. Now it looks like yet another prestige actor may be joining the cast of “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay” (which, in the tradition of the “Harry Potter” and “Twilight” denouements, will be divided into two parts for a prime money-grabbing opportunity).
Deadline reports that Lawrence is eyeing Julianne Moore for the role of President Alma Coin in the film. The character is a manipulative politician who “figures brightly in the finale as Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) becomes a symbol of rebeliion against the autocratic Capitol government.” Sounds juicy.
I’m sure we’ll all know a lot more about what’s going on with the “Hunger Games” films when Lionsgate brings “Catching Fire” to San Diego for Comic-Con next month. HitFix will be there, bringing you the latest.