Hunger Games gets a release date (and other HG news)!
2011 January 27
Big news for Hunger Games fans – the movie has an official release date! March 23, 2012 – can you wait until then? It may seem like a looooong time, but it’s not much more than a year. That’s a pretty tight schedule for a movie that hasn’t cast its leading roles, much less started filming, so I think I’ll manage to be patient until then.
Speaking of leading roles, there’s been plenty of recent buzz about casting too:
Liam Hemsworth
In a brief interview with MTV last week, Liam Hemsworth (above), who was in The Last Song with Miley Cyrus, confirmed that he’s read the Hunger Games script. You can see the video here – it’s pretty obvious that he hasn’t read the books (not that it will matter in the casting decisions, but you know, it’d be nice to have a fan in the role!) I haven’t seen him act, but he looks a little old for Peeta.
Other potential Peetas?
Alex Pettyfer
The ladies over at the always hilarious Forever Young Adult like the omnipresent Alex Pettyfer for everybody’s favorite baker/painter/flour-bag-lifter/camouflage-artist/all-around-good-guy/heartthrob (I’m Team Peeta, can you tell?) He’s in pretty much every upcoming YA adaptation in the next year, so who knows if he’ll have time to film a movie this spring…
Lucas Till
My personal vote goes to Lucas Till, who was in Hannah Montana: The Movie and will be in the newest X-Men movie (which comes out this summer). You guys, look at that adorable smile! He’s the only one of the group who looks sweet enough to be Peeta, in my opinion. Plus he’s a little younger than the other two. I want Peeta to look 16! He hasn’t been mentioned in connection with the script, but he gets a lot of buzz on fan sites like Mockingjay.com.
Now that we’ve looked at some potential Peetas, let’s get serious – this movie is all about Katniss and who ever gets the part will make or break the movie. The four actresses below have either read the script or been mentioned in connection with movie:
Kaya Scodelario
Kaya Scodelario tweeted that she’s read the script, although those tweets have been deleted now. I haven’t seen the British TV show Skins, which is her main claim to fame, but I think she looks like perfect Katniss. She’s got the wiry look I picture Katniss having, and while she’s lovely, she doesn’t have stereotypically Hollywood features. I’d hate for Katniss to be just another pretty girl.
Hailee Steinfeld
There’s also been support building for Hailee Steinfeld, the 14-year-old star of True Grit, to play Katniss. I hear she’s amazing in True Grit (in fact, she just got a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination!), but I worry that she looks a little bit too young to play Katniss, especially if they’re going to start shooting soon. On the other hand, a young, vulnerable looking Katniss could work really well, as long as the other characters, especially Gale, Peeta, and Prim, are cast well too.
Chloe Moretz
Another young’un who’s been mentioned for the part is Chloe Moretz , who recently starred in Kick-Ass and Let the Right One In, an adaptation of a super scary Swedish vampire novel. I haven’t seen either of those (geez, I really need to get my movie watching act together) but she’s gotten a lot of critical acclaim for both roles. She’s blond and so young looking in her IMDb picture that it’s hard to picture her as Katniss – maybe as Prim!
Lyndsy Fonseca
On the other end of the age scale is Lyndsy Fonesca, who’s also read the script. She plays Alex in the TV show Nikita and was also in Kick-Ass, so you know she’s tough enough to play Katniss, but she’s 24 – that seems way too old!
With plans to start filming this spring, we shouldn’t have to wait long before the cast is announced. What do you think? Who are your perfect Katniss and Peeta? What about the rest of your dream cast? And how many days until March 23, 2012?!
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I’m with you on the Katniss and Peeta choices; everyone else is just a bit off. I think Pettyfer might make a good Gale. He’s rugged enough for a teenage boy but doesn’t look 25. I can’t believe they have such a quick release date, considering they haven’t even announced who’s playing what role!!! If I were them I’d hold off – they’ll make more money that way.
Great post!
FYA is actually divided over the Peeta casting. One or two of the gals want Alex, but the rest of us are gunning for William Moseley (he’s got the sweet face, too). Lucas Till IS pretty adorable, though.
And even though he’s probably too old, Ethan Peck is our 100% our Gale choice. THAT VOICE! THOSE EYES!
I’ve never seen Kaya before but I have to admit, she’s a dead ringer for Katniss (the one I imagined…). And I LOOOVE Alex Petyfer for Peeta, but your choice was great too! I’d never have thought of him. But I’ve always had a soft spot for William Mosley. Gotta love that hair.
I think Liam’s just too old, and while I really like Hailee, she’s just too young! And although Katniss begins the series at 16, she’s so much more mature than a typical 16 year old, and so I don’t want her to look like an awkward, young girl… but that may be just because I’m over 16 so I don’t want to be a perv loving the youngins :)
I was totally on team Kaya Scodelario until I saw True Grit, and then I switched teams. Even though Hailee Steinfeld is only 14 now, I think she can definitely has the gumption and maturity to play Katniss–plus I think she looks pretty grown up for her age, and she was freaking towering over Justin Bieber at the Golden Globes. Also, I think a lot of times audiences have misguided ideas about what 16 year olds actually look like because we’re so used to seeing 20-somethings play high school students. Kaya Scodelario will be 19 by the time this starts filming, and somewhere in her twenties when it finishes. Wouldn’t it be nice if Hollywood casts someone appropriately aged for a role for once?
Thanks for the FYA correction, Posh! William Mosely also meets with my approval ;)
I agree that Pettfyr might make an ok Gale. He’s definitely chisled/rugged looking enough, but I like someone a swarthier looking (is that a word? it is now!) My sister suggested Jake Gyllenhall, to my dismay. I tried to reminder her gently (i.e. in an all-caps email with LOTS of exclamation points) that Gale is supposed to be 19, not THIRTY.
I’ve been promised a True Grit date sometime in the near future, so hopefully I’ll be able to weigh in on Hailee Steinfeld’s acting chops soon.
P.S. I’m viewing this on IE for the first time, and only about half the pictures are showing up! I use Chrome and Firefox at home…anybody else having trouble with the images might have better luck with a different browser!
Callan McAuliffe is “my” Peeta.