Hunger Games Casting (?)
Actress Jena Malone (Sucker Punch) is in the running for the pivotal role of strong-willed tribute Johanna Mason in The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, EW has learned exclusively.
The character is described in author Suzanne Collins’ bestseller as possessing “a wicked ability to murder,” winning her Hunger Games by pretending to be weak and then picking off the other tributes. One open question about the character is whether director Francis Lawrence will keep Johanna’s introduction from the book, in which she first meets heroine Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) naked — save for her green slippers.
Malone began her acting career at 12 years old in the acclaimed Showtime movie Bastard out of Carolina and as a young Jodie Foster in the sci-fi drama Contact. She most recently appeared in History’s ratings-record-breaking miniseries Hatfields & McCoys.
EW also confirmed that, despite an earlier report, Mia Wasikowska has not been approached for the role of Johanna Mason, nor would be available to shoot the film.