Elizabeth Banks to play Effie Trinket in HUNGER GAMES

Elizabeth Banks has been cast in the role of Effie Trinket in Garry Ross's The Hunger Games. Earlier we reported that Dayo Okeniyi andAmandla Stenberghad been cast in the roles of Thresh and Rue, respectively. The cast also includes Jennifer Lawrence, Liam Hemsworth and Josh Hutcherson. Lawrence will take on the lead role of Katniss Everdeen, Hemsworth has been cast as Gale Hawthorne andHutcherson is set to play Peeta Mellark

The Hunger Games takes place in the futuristic ruins of North America, which crumbled and was replaced by a Capitol and 12 districts. Each district is forced to supply 2 teenagers, between 12 and 18. They participate in The Hunger Games, a televised reality series that pits the contestants against one another in a battle to the death. The heroine is 16-year old Katniss Everdeen, a skilled hunter who’s adept with a bow and arrow. She replaces her younger sister, who was chosen in a lottery. She is joined by a baker's son who is also chosen from her dirt poor home district. 

The Hunger Games is set to be released on March 23rd 2012.