Philip Seymour Hoffman Offered Role in The Hunger Games

It looks like the sequel to the Hunger Games trilogy, Catching Fire, is going at full speed ahead. First it was announced that newcomer director Francis Lawrence would be replacing Gary Ross, and now it has been announced that a key role has been offered to Academy Award winner Philip Seymour Hoffman.

The offer came in on Monday for Philip Seymour Hoffman, and it’s said that if he accepts Hoffman will be playing Plutarch Heavensbee in Lionsgate’s Catching Fire. Hoffman’s name has been going around the project for weeks but nothing was confirmed until now. This also comes on the heels of his departure with his agency Paradigm after 18 years.

In the Hunger Games trilogy Heavensbee is the brand new man in charge of making the murderous games, which was a position coveted by actor Wes Bentley in the first film. While the studio had no comment over this particular casting update, it’s said that director Francis Lawrence is looking at a September date for the start of filming.

In addition to this possible project, Philip Seymour Hoffman just completed his role as one part of a string quartet with Christopher Walken and Imogen Poots. As far as his other projects he also completed another film starring alongside Joaquin Phoenix and Amy Adam’s in The Master from director Paul Thomas Anderson. The only project Hoffman has set in pre-production is a thriller about illegal Chechian Muslim immigrants who get caught up in an international war on terror.

Those who are scheduled to join Seymour Hoffman if he accepts the Hunger Games role are Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss, and Josh Hutcherson as Peter.