A new rumor from HollywoodLife.com has the casting for Finnick down to two contenders.
“It is currently a two horse race between Garrett Hedlund and Taylor Kitsch,” a source tells HollywoodLife.com. And while yesterday reports suggest Armie Hammer was also in the running, as well as a few unknowns, our insider says Garrett and Taylor are the top two choices. “The filmmakers aren’t scared of Taylor’s recent struggles with his movies, and he currently has the edge in gaining the role. They feel he needs the right role and this could be it.” But they still see the appeal of Kristen Stewart‘s On the Road costar, Garrett. “The filmmakers are eager to see ‘On the Road’ and see how it does, because if it’s a hit and Garrett gets some major buzz from it, then they will give him more of the edge.”
Our insider adds that Lionsgate execs aren’t worried about the next Hunger Games movie being successful, but they still prefer to have the bigger star for such an important role.
Thanks to Shylah from DTWC, we now know that LA Times has reported that Taylor Kitsch has no interest in the role for Finnick.
“Not going to happen,” the 31-year-old actor wrote in an email on Wednesday. Kitsch, who is coming off the poor box office performance of the big-budget films “John Carter” and “Battleship,” would seem to have fit the bill for the athletic, good-looking character.
As for “The Lone Ranger” star Hammer and “TRON: Legacy” lead Hedlund, the studio behind the franchise, Lionsgate, said it would not confirm, deny or comment on any casting in progress.
That’s a lot to take in a short few days, but hopefully by next week we will have our Finnick casted! Remember now, these are just rumors. Lionsgate has not confirmed any of these casting rumors. So in the meantime, keep calm and have a sugar cube(:
Sources: HollywoodLife.com, LA Times