Instead of getting all the new cast members in place and releasing one big press release, the team behind Hunger Games sequel Catching Fire are going the usual drip feed route, figuring that they needed to drum up as many stories as possible since very few people are even aware of the Hunger Games franchise. All sarcasm aside, they’ve gone for a fitting actor to play Wiress in the new film, with Amanda Plummer snagging the role.

Catching Fire, adapted by Simon Beaufoy and Michael Arndt from Suzanne Collins’ second novel, finds Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) and Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) returning from winning the 74th Games and almost immediately packed off on the Victor’s Tour of all the districts. With rebellion simmering ever hotter around the outlying areas, President Snow (Donald Sutherland) and his game makers decide that the 75h Games – falling on what’s known as the Quarter Quell – will be something quite different, with Katniss and Peeta forced back into the arena to compete against other previous winners.

Among them is Wiress from District 3, a smart but intensely odd woman who has a hard time communicating her ideas to the other tributes. Her eccentricity earns her the nickname “Nuts” from fellow tributes, but her observations and contributions prove invaluable in the Quarter Quell.

Plummer, who may still be best known for playing Honey Bunny in Pulp Fiction and Lydia in The Fisher King, will next be seen in Small Apartments. She’s joining a cast that includes veterans Lawrence, Hutcherson, Sutherland, Lenny Kravitz, Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks, Liam Hemsworth, Toby Jones, Stanley Tucci and Willow Shields, plus fellow newcomers Jena Malone and Philip Seymour Hoffman.

With Francis Lawrence in the director’s chair for this one, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire is set for release on November 22, 2013.

Update! Following on from Lionsgate's announcement, Variety is reporting that Snow White And The Huntsman’s Sam Claflin is now being seriously considered to play tribute Finnick Odair in the film, with Melissa Leo and Tony Shalhoub courted for Mags and Beetee.

Finnick is among the youngest victors of the Hunger Games, and is pushed back into competition during the 75th event. Mags, meanwhile, was his mentor and agrees to take the place of his lover, Annie Cresta, to save her life. The selfless act makes her a firm ally of Katniss Everdeen.

Beetee is an odder character, but one who more clearly understands Plummer’s Wiress.

None of the actors have entered formal negotiations yet, but they all appear to be close to receiving offers.