Jena Malone is joining the cast "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire," Lionsgate said Monday.
She will play Johanna Mason, a female winner of past gladiatorial games. Despite her victories, Johanna bears psychogical scars from her participation in the blood-sports.
Best known for her roles in "Into the Wild" and "Sucker Punch," Malone recently starred in the History Channel's ratings smash "Hatfields & McCoys."
But nothing in her resume can rival "The Hunger Games." The first film in the planned young adult franchise racked up $680 million worldwide and its sequel stands to be one of the mostly hotly anticipated films of next year.
Malone joins a cast that includes returning stars Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson and Liam Hemsworth, as well as newcomers Philip Seymour Hoffman and Amanda Plummer.
"The Hunger Games: Catching Fire" will be directed by Francis Lawrence ("I Am Legend"), and produced by Nina Jacobson’s Color Force along with producer Jon Kilik. The novel on which the film is based is the second in a trilogy that has over 50 million copies in print in the U.S.
Lionsgate will release the sequel on November 22, 2013.
