Hail to the chief! Donald Sutherland will play the president in The Hunger Games

Now that THE HUNGER GAMES is in production, you’d think that the casting announcements would finally cease – but no, here we are again. At least this time around it’s a name worth mentioning. Donald Sutherland (right, INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS) will play President Snow in the film.

President Snow has been the autocratic ruler of Panem and its contained districts for some 25 years at the outset of the story. With a snake-like appearance, he is cruel and ruthless in his intimidation and control tactics.

Sutherland joins a cast that also includes Jennifer Lawrence, Stanley Tucci, Elizabeth Banks (below), Woody Harrelson, Wes Bentley and a bunch more. The film is directed Gary Ross and written by Billy Ray, as based on the novel by Suzanne Collins. It will hit theaters on March 23, 2012 via Lionsgate.

Every year in the ruins of what was once North America, the nation of Panem forces each of its twelve districts to send a teenage boy and girl to compete in the Hunger Games.  Part twisted entertainment, part government intimidation tactic, the Hunger Games are a nationally televised event in which “Tributes” must fight with one another until one survivor remains.Pitted against highly-trained Tributes who have prepared for these Games their entire lives, Katniss is forced to rely upon her sharp instincts as well as the mentorship of drunken former victor Haymitch Abernathy.  If she’s ever to return home to District 12, Katniss must make impossible choices in the arena that weigh survival against humanity and life against love.