Entertainment Weekly debuted the following cover for their August 5 issue featuring Liam Hemsworth (The Last Song) as Gale and Josh Hutcherson (The Kids are All Right) as Peeta Mellark in Lionsgate’s The Hunger Games based on Suzanne Collins’ novel, which takes place in a society in which districts pay tribute in the form of a teenage boy and girl who are forced to fight to the death on live TV. The Peeta character was aged 16 in Collins’ “Hunger Games” and Gale was 18, Hutcherson is currently 19 and Hemsworth is 21, which should give you an idea, along with this image, of how the production plans to present their ages in the film.
I have to say, I really think Lionsgate is over-playing their hand with this film franchise. Unless they plan on producing a film that will appeal to a larger audience than just the main fanbase there could be some trouble here. This isn’t Harry Potter and the fanbase for this film isn’t as large or as vocal as the Twilight group. “Hunger Games” is probably the largest series of young adult novels to be adapted for the screen since the first “Twilight” film, but Lionsgate seems to be forcing the buzz more than simply let it grow louder on its own. I could be wrong, but that’s the feeling I get.
The two actors star opposite Jennifer Lawrence who plays the film’s lead character Katniss Everdeen. Lionsgate is set to release The Hunger Games on March 23, 2012. For all my coverage on the film click here.
