Jennifer Lawrence snags role of Katniss in The Hunger Games


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Lionsgate has officially announced that Jennifer Lawrence will be playing the much-coveted role of Katniss Everdeen in the upcoming film adaptation of the popular series, The Hunger Games.  Written by Suzanne Collins, the New York Times bestseller is a science fiction trilogy about a post-apocalyptic world with a little bit of a Twilight-esque twist that has sent thousands of teens and adults into a craze.  Since the release of the last book Mockingjay in 2010, fans have been planning their dream cast for the film adaptation.

Jennifer Lawrence, who has drawn a decent amount of media attention since her Oscar nomination for Winter’s Bone, is  a sure shot for director Gary Ross. But many of the fans are not as impressed for a couple reasons.

First, although this wouldn’t be the first time an older actress is cast for a younger role, Katniss is supposed to be only sixteen while Lawrence is 20 and most likely will be around 24 when the series ends.

Second, Lawrence does not posses the physical attributes of Katniss, having neither the olive skin nor the dark brown hair that mark her as a girl from “the Seam,” a town in the novel. These can both be fixed, though, with the help of a good hair salon and makeup artists.

One thing the fans need not worry about is Lawrence’s dedication to her role and the books. In a statement to fans she said, “I will give everything I have to these movies and to this role to make it worthy of Suzanne Collin’s masterpiece.”

While the game is up for the role of Katniss, actors to play fellow game constant Peeta and her childhood friend Gale are still not confirmed. It’ll be interesting to see if Lawrence has any say in the role of Peeta, as she revealed to Entertainment Weekly in an interview that he is her favorite character, that is besides Katniss of course.  “He’s good and nice in a world that’s harsh and unkind,” she said.

With filming set to begin later this spring, fans won’t have to wait much longer.  Who do you think should play Peeta?