You know what The Hunger Games: Catching Fire really needs? Some gravitas. Though the first film was an unmitigated success, and it certainly benefited from its young and vibrant cast, most the of “elder statesman” work fell on the shoulders of Donald Sutherland as evil President Snow. Wouldn’t it be nice to have someone around that we can trust?
If you’re unfamiliar with the second book in Suzanne Collins’ smash hit book series, a brief character description of the brand new Head Gamemaker for The Hunger Games, Plutarch Heavensbee, might not make you feel the warm and fuzzies. After all, Wes Bentley’s cold and calculating Head Gamemaker, Seneca Crane, seemed bent on rivaling snow for the film’s evil points, and how could anyone in his same position be anything less than a foe? Well, perhaps when he’s played by Philip Seymour Hoffman.
Lionsgate has today confirmed that Hoffman is set for the role of Heavensbee, a Gamemaker of a very different stripe than Crane. Hoffman’s casting has been rumored for nearly a month, but today’s official announcement seals the deal (and makes the potential casting of Jena Malone perhaps a bit easier to swallow). Hoffman will likely have a sizable role in Catching Fire and, should his work prove solid (which it will, this is Philip Seymour Hoffman), the odds are in his favor that he will return for the rest of the series.
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire will be directed by Francis Lawrence and it will open on November 22, 2013.
