**Update: **According to Entertainment Weekly, both Hemsworth and Hutcherson have now been officially castin the film.
Now that director Gary Ross has decided that Jennifer Lawrence is the woman he wants to play Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger Games, the focus has shifted to finding some male co-stars to appear alongside her. And, according to Deadline, the front-runners for the two main roles are Liam Hemsworth and Josh Hutcherson.
Based on Suzanne Collins’ hugely popular fantasy trilogy, Hunger Games posits a world destroyed by conflict, where teens are selected at random to fight in gladiator-style games televised for the residents of the shattered nation of Panem to watch, in order to keep them in line. Katniss volunteers to fight to protect her younger sister and teams with Peeta Mellark (the role Hutcherson is being considered for). Gale Hawthorne (Hemsworth’s possible role), meanwhile, is an old friend of Katniss, who accompanies her on hunts and has a plan to help her and a family escape until her entry into the games curtails the idea.
Collins wrote the first draft of the script, which has since been re-worked by Breach's Billy Ray. Ross plans to kick off shooting in May for a March 23 release next year.
Keep in mind that these two are still nowhere near locked in – indeed, Lionsgate told Deadline’s Mike Fleming that no offers have gone out as yet. But what do you think? Could you see the pair playing these roles?