While most of the attention regarding The Hunger Games: Catching Fire has centered on the character of Finnick Odair, there are quite a few new characters that need to be taken care of as well. One of those is Plutarch Heavensbee, the new Head Gamemaker after Seneca Crane(Wes Bentley) and his epic beard failed so massively the last time. It's a crucial role, one that will be important from now until the end of the trilogy, and apparently Lionsgate know who they want to fill it.
Variety and Deadline(via the eagle eyed Bleeding Cool) both reported that Lionsgate wants Philip Seymour Hoffman to take the part, making him an official offer. Whether or not he accepts it is another story. He's done major franchise movies before, like in Mission: Impossible III, but it's not usually his cup of tea. In the books, Plutarch is only a bit player, one of the judges who gets startled when Katniss fires an arrow at them during training. His character wasn't in the film at all, though. Hoffman is a great choice for the part, as Plutarch has enough layers for this to not just be some paycheck job.
So Lionsgate has a lot of casting balls in the air right now, and they really need to start nailing some of these spots down. Filming is expected to being this fall, so we should begin hearing official announcements soon. Catching Fire is slated to open on November 22nd 2013.
