Before Jennifer Lawrence became a household name for playing Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger Games film series, an impressive list of actresses auditioned for the role. The four installments were based on the best-selling YA dystopian trilogy by Suzanne Collins. The author is set to release a prequel novel, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, soon which is already in the early stages of development for a film adaptation with Lionsgate. Despite being the central figure of the original Hunger Games trilogy, Katniss will not be involved in the prequel.
The Hunger Games franchise was set in a dystopian world after the ruins of the U.S. were split into 12 districts, thus comprising of a new nation called Panem. The story's heroine, Katniss, resided in District 12, one of the poorest among Panem. Every year, the Capitol forced two children or teens from each district to participate in an annual Hunger Games event in which only one participant survived. After her younger sister was chosen, Katniss bravely volunteered in her place. She then went on to become a symbol of the revolution as the districts embarked on an uprising against Panem's tyrannical leaders.
Production of The Hunger Games started after Lionsgate acquired the rights of Collins' popular books. By March 2011, a year before the first movie's release, casting information was announced. The interest in Hunger Games was expected to be enormous considering the books' fan following. It made sense why so many actors vyed for a role in the film, especially when it came to portraying Katniss. A number of up-and-coming young actresses made their interest public, including Chloë Grace Moretz, Lyndsy Fonseca, and Kaya Scodelario. The names who were said to have met with director Gary Ross and formally auditioned or read for the role was even more eye-opening.
Over two dozen actresses auditioned for the role of Katniss with the hope of becoming The Hunger Games' central star. Of the actresses that threw their hat in the ring, the most notable names included Abigail Breslin, Emma Roberts, Saoirse Ronan, Hailee Steinfeld, Emily Browning, and Troian Bellisario. Shailene Woodley also tried out for the role but was not chosen. The actress would get another chance at headlining a film franchise based on a popular book with her portrayal of Tris Prior in the Divergent series - another franchise owned by Lionsgate (through the subsidiary Summit Entertainment).
In the end, Lawrence was deemed the right fit for the highly coveted role. Collins wanted someone with a sense of maturity, and when Lawrence was cast, she believed the actress perfectly embodied the character from her novels. Ross credited Lawrence's work in Winter's Bone as a deciding factor in the casting decision. She was also no stranger to big-name franchises after working on X-Men: First Class. Playing Katniss ended up being Lawrence's career-defining role. Though she went on to work in several notable films, some of which caught Academy Award attention, the actress will always be linked to The Hunger Games franchise.
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