Entertainment Weekly: The 75th annual Hunger Games are on!
Lionsgate announced Monday that The Hunger Games: Catching Fire?has officially started production in and around Atlanta, Ga., with director Francis Lawrence (I Am Legend)?at the helm, before moving to shoot in Hawaii. Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson are, of course, reprising their respective roles as winning tributes Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark; Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks, Lenny Kravitz, Stanley Tucci, and Donald Sutherland are all also returning, with Philip Seymour Hoffman, Sam Claflin, Jeffrey Wright, Jena Malone, and Amanda Plummer joining the franchise. Shooting is set to conclude in December.
Intriguingly, the announcement was notable for what it?didn?t mention as much as what it did. Several minor roles in the film have yet to be filled, including 11 of the tributes who make up the Quarter Quell, a.k.a the 75th annual Hunger Games.?Lionsgate?s official synopsis for the film is also keeping the unique nature of the Quarter Quell close to the vest, although fans of the Suzanne Collins book already know it will be rather difficult for the studio to keep that plot point under wraps for much longer.?And Lionsgate has yet to announce the final screenwriting credits for the film, although?Slumdog Millionaire scribe Simon Beaufoy reportedly handed in a draft earlier this year.
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire will hit theaters Nov. 22, 2013.
