A few weeks back Entertainment Weekly revealed the first look of Gary Ross’ controversial Hunger Games casting choice Jennifer Lawrence in full Katniss-gear, and now it’s time for her co-stars Josh Hutcherson and Liam Hemsworth to unveil what weeks of intense physical training and rehearsal has wrought. As you can see the results are striking.
—
—
Hemsworth, whose brother Chris is the beefy and beautiful star of Thor, may be best known as the love interest in the teen-aimed Nicolas Sparks adaptation The Last Song, which starred Disney girl gone wild(ish) Miley Cyrus. In The Hunger Games, Hemsworth will be playing the pragmatic and brooding Gale, seen above on an illegal hunting expedition with his best friend Katniss. As much of their life in the impoverished District 12 is dedicated to scrapping together enough food to feed their fatherless households, these two’s burgeoning attraction is slow to catch fire, but based on this photo, fans are likely to delight in that slow burn longing.
Now Hutcherson, who was an early favorite for the role of Peeta, has a long list of features to his credit, but was most recently seen in the Oscar-nominated family drama The Kids Are All Right. Notably, some fans were outraged when the dark-haired actor was cast as the blonde baker boy, but I got to say, he pulls the look off well, and with the packed on muscle, has achieved a stunning transformation that should have female fans swooning. In the above image, Peeta is likely outside the bakery his parents own and operate – possibly in a crucial scene fans of the book can easily detail at length!
And one more for good measure:
—
These pictures not only reveal the gritty world of District 12 and its gorgeous forest that serves as safe haven for the steel-hearted Katniss, but also suggest a telling insight into the film’s dynamic and love triangle. Fans know Peeta’s family is better off than Gale and Katniss’s, and a careful look at these images shows the visual distinctions of these class differences. While I’m sure these images are intended for tween fans to hang in their lockers as they eagerly anticipate the newest Team showdown (I’m totally Team Peeta by the way), they have also put my mind at ease about the film’s visual style. It looks like Ross’ is looking to ground the film in the gruff and raw surroundings of a battered District 12 before taking viewers on a tour of opulence in the Capitol. Now I can’t wait to get a First Look at the Capitol sets and images of Elizabeth Banks in full Effie Trinket regalia to get a sense of the film’s latter half. Not to mention looks inside the Hunger Games arena, though honestly – I’m hoping those images are kept on lockdown until a full trailer hits.
Synopsis:
“The Hunger Games” chronicles a dystopic Capitol which requires its twelve subjugated districts to pay tribute in the form of a teenage boy and girl, forced to participate in the annual “Hunger Games,” a fight-to-the-death live televised event. Katniss Everdeen’s little sister is chosen in the lottery to participate and Katniss volunteers to take her place. Although persevering through hardship is commonplace for Katniss, she must start making choices that weigh survival against humanity and life against love in order to win the games and return home. The “Hunger Games” novel has been on the New York Times best seller list for over 100 consecutive weeks. Foreign rights for the book, published by Scholastic have been sold in 41 countries.
The Hunger Games is slated to open March 23, 2012.
What do you make of these images? If you weren’t a fan of the casting, have they swayed you? Are you Team Peeta or Team Gale?