“Hunger Games: Catching Fire” Producer Talks Finnick Odair Casting

For the past few weeks, there's been a lot of talk and speculation online about who will play the handsome, brave and arrogant Finnick Odair in the “Hunger Games” sequel “Catching Fire,” which goes into production this fall. Producer Nina Jacobson is finally speaking out on that.

Unfortunately, she's not saying something that will please fans.

As we also noted a while back, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Kitsch, Garrett Hedlund and Armie Hammer were all linked to the role. The first two have already denied ever being approached to play it.

That left Hedlund and Hammer in the running, with fans of the successful series saying the former would be a much better choice for the part.

As it turns out, neither of the two is on the shortlist and that happens for a very simple reason: there is no shortlist yet.

Speaking to the LA Times' 24 Frames, Jacobson reveals they're all aware of the rumors making the rounds online but, as a matter of fact, they have no intention of paying any heed to them – in one way or another.

The rumors are “so not true,” the producer says.

“That’s the thing that’s crazy – people are like way ahead of where we are. We’ve not narrowed things down by any means. It’s funny to see how things can take on a life of their own,” Jacobson adds of the shortlist that made the rounds until now.

Even if the fans have already opted for a favorite, producers have no intention to take their choice into consideration because that's not how things are done in showbiz.

“It means something that people can see [an actor] in that light, so you know [the actor] will be accepted by a lot of people, on the one hand,” Jacobson concedes.

“On the other hand, you have to kind of ignore it. You have to just sort of act like you’re sitting in a room and you want to just pick the person who gives the best audition and looks and feels most like the part,” she adds.

Fans must already know that “Catching Fire” will see the main cast reprising their roles from “The Hunger Games” (Jennifer Lawrence, Liam Hemsworth, Josh Hutcherson, Stanley Tucci, Elizabeth Banks and Woody Harrelson), but new characters will also be added to the roster.

Of them, Finnick Odair is the most interesting, so this explains why fans already want to know who will be playing him.

“The Hunger Games: Catching Fire” goes into production this fall, so chances are the fans won't have to wait for that much longer.