The “Hunger Games” franchise may be adding yet another Oscar favorite to its ranks.
Academy Award winner Philip Seymour Hoffman (“Capote”) is in talks to join the upcoming sequel “Catching Fire.”
The actor has received an offer from Lionsgate to appear as the new gamesmaker Plutarch Heavensbee in the film, which starts shooting this fall, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
He would be joining Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth and Oscar nominees Jennifer Lawrence (reprising her role as Katniss Everdeen), Woody Harrelson (“The Messenger”) and Stanley Tucci (“The Lovely Bones”).
Francis Lawrence (“I Am Legend”) signed on to direct the sequel after original helmer Gary Ross exited the franchise. “The Hunger Games,” based on the novel by Suzanne Collins, has so far grossed over $600 million at the global box office.
Hoffman will soon be seen in Paul Thomas Anderson’s “The Master” and, later, in “A Most Wanted Man,” based on the novel by John LeCarre (“Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy”).
Is Hoffman a good choice to play Plutarch Heavensbee?