When the latest round of rumors hit about which adult actors might fill in the last remaining roles in The Hunger Games, we thought that Woody Harrelson had been pegged for the relatively small role of Seneca Crane, the head gamemaker in charge of designing the brutal arena where children are sent to fight to the death. While Harrelson may very well be in line for another role in the film, he won't be playing Seneca after all-- Deadline is reporting that the role has gone to Wes Bentley, an actor far less well-known than Harrelson and who, frankly, makes a lot more sense in the part. Still, Bentley is famous enough that it would be strange to cast him in a very tiny part, so I'm now wondering if they've beefed up the role somehow for the movie version.

Sadly Deadline doesn't have any more information, including on whether or not the rest of Vulture's earlier scoop-- which had Lenny Kravitz and Stanley Tucci also up for roles alongside Harrelson-- is true any longer. Someone floated the notion of Harrelson playing Haymitch, the drunken former champion of the Hunger Games who is charged with training Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) and Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) for battle. While Harrelson hasn't exactly gone to seed like the Haymitch I imagine, it's a role he could definitely pull off with the right mix of careless laziness and an eventual deep affection for both of his tributes. If there's any truth to that rumor I'd love to get some confirmation soon, both since The Hunger Games will start shooting very soon and because I'm sick to death of the nonstop casting process.