The casting party for the upcoming movie adaptation of Suzanne Collins‘ hugely successful book, The Hunger Games, just never seems to end.

We’ve heard about a bunch of actors being cast so far, namely the leads in Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen, Josh Hutcherson and Liam Hemsworth as Peeta and Gale, and Elizabeth Banks as Effie Trinket.

But it doesn’t end there; some new names have jumped on board. It’s being reported that Woody Harrelson has signed on to play Haymitch Abernathy, mentor to Katniss who won the Hunger Games many years before. Joining him as new additions are Stanley Tucci — always a great addition to any movie he appears in — playing the role of the host of the games, Caesar Flickerman, and Wes Bentley (American Beauty), who will be playing head gamemaker Seneca Crane.

The lead roles for the movie adaptation of Suzanne Collins‘ popular novel, The Hunger Games, were taken care of early with Academy Award nominee Jennifer Lawrence set to play Katniss Everdeen and Josh Hutcherson and Liam Hemsworth locked in for the roles of Peeta Mellark and Gale Hawthorne.

Since the leads were cast, the team working on the movie have been very busy bringing together a bunch of supporting actors to solidify the cast. A short time ago it was reported that Elizabeth Banks (The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Zack and Miri Make A Porno) was in talks to play Effie Trinket, the eventual handler of Lawrence’s Katniss. The talks have now been sorted out, and Banks has been officially confirmed for the role.

When it all came down to casting the pivotal role of Katniss Everdeen, the female lead in Suzanne Collins‘ popular book The Hunger Games, it came down to three Academy Award-nominated actresses — not a bad decision to be faced with as a filmmaker.

The final three hopefuls were Abigail Breslin (nominated for Little Miss Sunshine), Jennifer Lawrence (just nominated for Winter’s Bone), and Hailee Steinfeld (also just nominated for her performance in True Grit), but now only one remains. Lionsgate Entertainment has officially announced that Miss Lawrence will be playing the role of Katniss, a 16-year-old girl who participates in an annual event among 12 districts where teenage boys and girls from each district are forced to fight to the death on live TV.

It’s been announced by Lionsgate Films that they’ve set a release date for The Hunger Games, the adaptation of the popular young-adult novel of the same name by author Suzanne Collins.

The movie is set to be released on March 23, 2012, and tells the story of a post apocalyptic future where North America is now known as the country of Panem, where twelve districts are controlled by the government in a city called Capitol. As a punishment, an annual event called the Hunger Games is held, where kids — one boy and one girl from each district within the ages of 12 to 18 — are forced to fight to the death to show that in these brutal times, the controlling government is in power and not even the younger civilians are safe.

The Hunger Games is set to be directed by Gary Ross, who previously helmed Seabiscuit and Pleasantville. Ross has also written Big, Dave, and The Tale of Despereaux along with the two titles mentioned above. Writer Billy Ray (Breach, State of Play) penned the screenplay, but it’s unclear whether his draft will be the one used for filming.