After weeks of rumors, E! News has confirmed that Philip Seymour Hoffman has officially signed on to play Plutarch Heavensbee in The Hunger Games: Catching Fire. The deal was apparently reached right before the Fourth of July, with shooting set to start this fall.
In the novels, Plutarch Heavensbee is the new Head Gamemaker for the Hunger Games, and he attempts to win the trust of Katniss throughout Catching Fire. He also has a role in the third book as well, so it looks like Hoffman will be around for the remainder of the film trilogy.
This casting choice adds more validity to the franchise that should go a long way towards propelling the movie beyond the teen lit crowd. And being that Hoffman doesn’t normally appear in blockbusters, it would seem that Lionsgate presented him a pitch that he couldn’t resist. Whether a dump truck full of money was involved we're not certain.
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire will hit theaters on November 22, 2013.
[via E! News]
