Buried in a story about Philip Seymour Hoffman deciding to ditch his agent came early word that the actor had been offered a role as Plutarch Heavensbee in the Hunger Games sequel Catching Fire. Now, according to the Hollywood Reporter, it has become official.
Plutarch, as anyone who has read the book will know, is the new gamemaker appointed after the embarrassing ending of the last Games led to – spoiler alert – the execution of Wes Bentley’s Seneca Crane. In Catching Fire, Plutarch oversees a special version of the games for the 75th anniversary. Announced as a celebration, the modified competition forces Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) and Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) to compete against previous Victors instead of the usual fresh-faced Tributes.
Francis Lawrence has taken over directing the new movie from Gary Ross, and it features a script by Simon Beaufoy and Michael Arndt. If Hoffman accepts the role, he’ll join Lawrence, Hutcherson and Liam Hemsworth, who is the other confirmed veteran returning as Gale. We’d expect the likes of Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks, Stanley Tucci, Lenny Kravitz and Donald Sutherland all to be back for the film, which is set for release on November 22, 2013.