The strangely awesome cast of "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire" just got a little bit more strange and awesome. Lionsgate announced Friday that world-class actor Jeffrey Wright has been cast as Beetee in the second installment of the franchise. Back in July, Variety had reported that Tony Shaloub was the front-runner for the role.
In "Catching Fire," the second book in Suzanne Collins' best-selling trilogy, Beetee is a former Hunger Games victor from District 3. He is known as "Volts" because of his prowess with electronics equipment and helps Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) during the Quarter Quell -- the 75th Hunger Games which brings together past champions.
Wright is the latest prestigious actor to join "Catching Fire." In addition to Lawrence (an Oscar nominee for "Winter's Bone"), the cast includes Philip Seymour Hoffman, Woody Harrelson, Donald Sutherland, Jena Malone, Liam Hemsworth, Elizabeth Banks, Josh Hutcherson and Sam Claflin. Hoffman and Wright appeared together in last year's "Ides of March."
Francis Lawrence is set to direct "Catching Fire." The film arrives in theaters on Nov. 22, 2013.
'Hunger Games' Premiere
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this post referred to Beetee as "Bolts." The author was sent to into the Hunger Games as punishment for the mistake.