14 stars who were almost cast in ‘The Hunger Games’

It’s kind of a bittersweet week for Hunger Games fans, isn’t it? We can barely contain our excitement over the fact that Mockingjay Part 2 is finally, finally in theatres, but at the same time with this film comes the official end of the franchise.

Can Katniss and the rebels take back The Capitol? Can Peeta be saved? These are questions that avid book readers already know, of course, but ones that have been pressing on the minds of movie-goers everywhere.

An even bigger question, however, is what would Hunger Games have looked like without Jennifer Lawrence, Liam Hemsworth or Josh Hutcherson? Pretty different, if you ask us — especially if you consider these 14 stars who almost nabbed some of the franchise’s bigger roles.

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14 stars who were almost cast in ‘The Hunger Games’

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  Shailene Woodley

  Would you rather have seen the star in Divergent or Hunger Games? Because as it turns out, had she landed the role of Katniss as planned, we could have had a whole new Tris. Getty

• Alexander Ludwig

  Vikings' Ragnar Lothbrok's favoured son almost landed the role of the breadmaker’s son too; sadly he was cut. In a meant-to-be twist, however, he showed up later as Cato instead.Getty

• Alex Pettyfer

  Before he was making nice with the boys on Magic Mike, Alex Pettyfer was up for the role of Peeta Mellark. Well, sort of. He had been in mind, but was still waiting for a script when the role went to Josh Hutcherson. Getty

• Dakota Fanning

  Is there such thing as being “too” famous? There is when it comes to the role of Katniss. That’s apparently why Fanning was passed over for the gig. Good thing J-Law exploded after the original film, huh?Getty

• David Henrie

  Could you have seen the former Wizards of Waverly Place star and Ted’s future son on How I Met Your Mother as Gale Hawthorne? Neither could Hunger Games producers, although they did consider him for a brief period of time. Getty

• Emily Browning

  We all know the Legend star knows how to throw a Sucker Punch, but apparently she was in mind for a much bigger role – that of Katniss. Sadly, she had never read the books and wasn’t interested in a trilogy anyhow. At least that’s the reason she said she didn’t want the leading role in the Twilight films either.Getty

• Kaya Scodelario

  The Maze Runner star, however, was supposedly “gutted” when she lost out on the role of Katniss. Getty

• Evan Peters

  If Peters had of nabbed the role of Peeta as he’d hoped, we would have never seen all of his creepy iterations in American Horror StoryGetty

• Hailee Steinfeld

  An Oscar nominee and an early favourite for the role of Katniss Everdeen, Hailee was in talks with the director and everything. Then JLaw came along and the rest, as the say, is history. Getty

• John C. Reilly

  It’s hard to picture anyone other than Woody Harrelson in the boozy role of Haymitch Abernathy, but before the former Cheers star hopped on board it was John C. Reilly who was rumoured for the part. Getty

• Lucas Till

  The X-Men star may know how to wreak Havok on the big screen, but apparently he didn’t quite have what it took to pull off the role of Peeta either. Getty

• Lyndsy Fonseca

  The former Nikita badass has a proven track record when it comes to kicking butt and taking names. Sadly, it wasn’t enough for her to convince producers that she would make the perfect Katniss. Getty

• Taylor Kitsch

  Because clearly Hunger Games needed more eye candy, this Canadian reportedly made it into the Top 3 choices to play Finnick Odair, a role that eventually went to Sam Claflin.Getty

• Emma Roberts

  Roberts was one of the earliest names attached to the project — but not even nepotism could land her the eventual gig of Katniss. That’s okay, since had that happened, she wouldn’t have had the opportunity to become Ryan Murphy’s muse. Getty