Last month we let you know Gary Ross and Lionsgate we’re still hard at work with casting the crucial lead in HUNGER GAMES – the dystopic sci-fi adaptation of Suzanne Collins’ novel series. Well, the studio has yet to announce who’ll play the female lead (though it’s said to be announced soon)…but that hasn’t stopped them from tagging the flick with an official release date.
That’s right y’all…HUNGER GAMES has been set for a March 23rd, 2012 release. Not surprisingly, the film will likely be rated PG-13. Here’s a thumbnail synopsis:
HUNGER GAMES – the first in a novel trilogy by Collins – takes place in an unidentified future time period after the destruction of North America, in a nation known as Panem. Panem consists of a wealthy Capitol and twelve surrounding, poorer districts. As punishment for a previous rebellion against the Capitol, every year one boy and one girl between the ages of 12 and 18 from each district are selected at random and forced to participate in the Hunger Games, a televised event where the participants, or “tributes”, must fight to the death in a dangerous outdoor arena until only one remains.
The story follows fatherless 16-year-old Katniss Everdeen, a girl from District 12 who volunteers for the 74th Games in place of her younger sister, Primrose. Also participating from District 12 is Peeta Mellark, a boy whom Katniss knows from school and who once saved Katniss’s life by giving her bread when her family was starving.
HUNGER GAMES opens March 23rd, 2012. Stay close for imminent casting news.