Well it’s about time. After a ton of speculation, the two male leads for The Hunger Games have been confirmed. Josh Hutcherson and Liam Hemsworth will star opposite Jennifer Lawrence in Gary Ross’ upcoming film. Hutcherson will play Peeta Mellark and Liam Hemsworth will play Gale Hawthorn. For weeks now almost every actor under the age of 25 has been rumored for these two roles. I’m glad to see we finally get some confirmation as the speculation was getting to be a bit too much.
The film, which is based on a trilogy of novels, takes place “in a dystopic world, where teenagers are forced to participate in the annual “Hunger Games,” a fight-to-the-death televised event.” Apparently Lionsgate is hoping to turn this into a ‘Twilight’ type franchise, which is apparent by the three actors chosen to carry the film. I enjoy Lawrence and Hutcherson’s work but I’m not too sure about Hemsworth. He’s best known for The Last Song, which was a huge flop, and he hasn’t done anything else notable. That being said, he’ll definitely appeal to the teen crowd, which is clearly who Lionsgate is targeting. So who knows, it may work out.
I haven’t read the novels but the premise does sound intriguing and for now, I’m looking forward to hearing more about the film. With a March 23, 2012 release date, you can expect to hear more about the film soon. We’ll keep you posted.