Arguably the highest-profile new role in The Hunger Games: Catching Fire is Finnick Odair. It’s a fun character who gets a lot of action and some meaty drama. Today, Lionsgate has announced that the role has gone to Snow White and the Huntsman star Sam Claflin. Claflin was rumored for the role last month, and I’m not sure how I feel about the choice. He got his start in The Pillars of the Earth, which I haven’t seen, and I haven’t found him all that memorable in Snow White and the Huntsman or his other big film, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. However, those blockbusters aren’t very good, and he didn’t have much to do in either. Finnick will presumably be a much larger role, so I’m eager to see what he does with the part.
Claflin joins newcomers Tony Shalhoub, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Jena Malone, Amanda Plummer, Lynn Cohen, Bruno Gunn, Alan Ritchson, E. Roger Mitchell, and Meta Golding along with returning stars Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, and Woody Harrelson. Hit the jump for the press release. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire opens November 22, 2013.
Here’s the press release:
Lionsgate and the filmmakers of THE HUNGER GAMES: CATCHING FIRE are pleased to announce that Sam Claflin has been cast in the role of Finnick in the much anticipated film adaptation of Suzanne Collins’ worldwide smash hit novel Catching Fire. Charasmatic and clever, Finnick was a District 4 Hunger Games victor when he was fourteen.
After breaking out in his role as the romantic lead in last year’s PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: ON STRANGER TIDES, Claflin starred in the box office smash SNOW WHITE AND THE HUNTSMAN playing Prince William alongside Kristen Stewart, Charlize Theron and Chris Hemsworth. He recently finished filming THE QUIET ONES opposite Jarred Harris, and MARY & MARTHA, in which he co-stars with Hilary Swank.
THE HUNGER GAMES: CATCHING FIRE begins as Katniss Everdeen has returned home safe after winning the 74th Annual Hunger Games along with fellow tribute Peeta Mellark. Winning means that they must turn around and leave their family and close friends, embarking on a “Victor’s Tour” of the districts. Along the way Katniss senses that a rebellion is simmering, but the Capitol is still very much in control as President Snow prepares the 75th Annual Hunger Games (The Quarter Quell) – a competition that could change Panem forever.
THE HUNGER GAMES: CATCHING FIRE will be directed by Francis Lawrence, and produced by Nina Jacobson’s Color Force in tandem with producer Jon Kilik. The novel on which the film is based is the second in a trilogy that has sold more than 50 million books in print and digital in the U.S. alone.
Lionsgate will release THE HUNGER GAMES: CATCHING FIRE on November 22, 2013.
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Oh, great. Mr. Wooden Acting, who may look the part, but nothing i’ve seen from him suggests that he can be all charming and cool like Finnick.
I wanted Garrett Hedlund
Tony Shalhoub has not been cast in Catching Fire so why did you add it to the list of actors?
Odair always came off to me like the metrosexual type.
To those who think he’s a bad actor checkout Any Human Heart or United. He’s great in both
Basically in the book finnick was described as very hot and tall and flirtatious but this guy he ain’t hot at all so no the shouldn’t cast him for this roll it should be the guy from tron legacy!
Uh oh! I’ve never heard of Claflin before this but, based on the comments, it doesn’t sound like he’s a good choice. I was just talking about this with a few gals around my office at Dish, and we are just not seeing the resemblance to how Finnick is described in the book. It definitely makes me worried, but I can’t judge until I see how he is an actor. I’m going to have to rent The Pillars of Earth (another thing I’ve never heard of) and the fourth Pirates movie so I can check him out. Luckily, both of those titles are available from the Blockbuster@Home service through my Dish account, so it’ll be easy to track them down. Thank goodness because I wouldn’t have even known where to start searching!