Hunger Games casting news is heating up! Earlier this week news broke that Beastly’s Alex Pettyfer has been approached to play Peeta in Gary Ross’s soon-to-shoot adaptation of the best-selling YA novel. And after hearing that the search for Katniss, the gritty heroine of Suzanne Collin’s adventure trilogy, was wide-reaching, it now seems the clear frontrunner is Jennifer Lawrence.
According to Variety, Lawrence, who earned an Oscar nod for playing the gruff teen heroine in the gritty indie drama Winter’s Bone, is “close” to being offered the role. Back in January, I called out Lawrence as my personal pick for the role of Katniss, so obviously I’m stoked to hear she’s the current favorite in the pool of highly talented young actresses that have been mentioned for the project. However, I know some fans will be distraught to hear that a 20-year-old will be playing the 16-year-old Katniss, and some will be outright enraged that the typically blonde-haired and fair-skinned Lawrence doesn’t meet the physical description of Katniss, who is said to have dark hair, olive skin and grey eyes. However, I’m less concerned with these superficial aspects and more concerned that an actress be cast who can carry a film and say a lot with little dialogue. (As the books are told from Katniss’s POV, my guess is that much of her attitude and thoughts will need to be conveyed with facial expressions and physicality – unless they go with that classicly hackneyed tension-killer: voiceover.)
Lawrence proved her performance prowess with Winter’s Bone, in which she plays Ree Dolly, a teen girl who is the sole provider for her family, which is made up of a MIA father, two younger siblings and a mentally disturbed mother. Sound familiar? To me the real question is: will this blossoming starlet want to sign on to a film franchise that would lock her into teen-centric films into her late twenties? Admittedly, if the first film does well, Katniss will prove a star-making turn, but Lawrence is already drawing buzz and is set to co-star in this summer’s X-Men: First Class. Furthermore, Hunger Games is being touted as the next Twilight, as the film’s producers are hoping it will attract tween, teen and adult audiences. With Twilight’s twenty-something stars often bemoaning their good fortune in being locked into a film series that is wildly popular worldwide, will the up-and-coming Lawrence want to take on such a long-lasting endeavor?
We’re likely to find out soon, as the film is drawing nearer and nearer production. So expect further casting decisions (including reports on possible Gales and Haymitches) to come out in short order!
What do you think about Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss?