Philip Seymour Hoffman Signs for ‘The Hunger Games: Catching Fire’

Last month, before the flip-flop fest that finally ended with Jena Malone getting the part of Johanna Mason in The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, there was word going around that an offer was out to the fantastic Philip Seymour Hoffman to take a role in the sequel. Hoffman was extended an offer to play Plutarch Heavensbee, the new gamemaker for the Third Quarter Quell at the next Hunger Games after Seneca Crane (Wes Bentley) proved that he wasn’t quite ready for that responsibility by allowing Katniss Everdeen’s defiance of the Capitol at the end of the last Hunger Games. Now the actor has finally signed on. This is about the best casting news (via E! News) I’ve heard in a long time. Hoffman is perfect for the role of Heavensbee, an integral character in Catching Fire whose actions resonate through the entire second book and even the rest of the series. …