Liam Hemsworth, Josh Hutcherson join Jennifer Lawrence in The Hunger Games

The lead roles in Gary Ross's adaptation of The Hunger Games have become the most sought after in all of young Hollywood. Following weeks of highly competitive jockeying for the role of Katniss Everdeen, we ultimately saw Jennifer Lawrence(Winter's Bone) nail down the gig, despite some people claiming about her age and ethnicity. That left two big male roles left to fill: Katniss's partner and love interest, Peeta Mellark; and her friend Gale Hawthorne. Just over the weekend we learned that Liam Hemsworth(Triangle) and Josh Hutcherson(Bridge to Terabithia) were the two top choices, but nothing had been finalized. Now that appears to have changed.

Lionsgate has confirmed via a press release that Hemsworth will indeed be Gale, while Hutcherson will tackle the role of Peeta. For both actors this will be the biggest film of their short careers. Hutcherson found acclaim for his performance in one of my favorite fantasy films in recent memory, Bridge to Terabithia. Last year he starred in the Oscar nominated comedy, The Kids Are All Right. He had been one of the leading contenders to take on the role of Spider-Man in Marc Webb's relaunch, ultimately losing out on the role to Andrew Garfield.

For Hemsworth, his film career began with a role in the Nicolas Cage thriller, Knowing. But his biggest claim to fame so far is probably his starring role as Miley Cyrus's love interest in The Last Song.

The Hunger Games is based on Suzanne Collins' insanely popular trilogy of young adult adventure novels. Here's how Lionsgate describes the world of The Hunger Games...

“The Hunger Games” chronicles a dystopic Capitol which requires its twelve subjugated districts to pay tribute in the form of a teenage boy and girl, forced to participate in the annual “Hunger Games,” a fight-to-the-death live televised event. Katniss Everdeen’s little sister is chosen in the lottery to participate and Katniss volunteers to take her place. Although persevering through hardship is commonplace for Katniss, she must start making choices that weigh survival against humanity and life against love in order to win the games and return home. The Hunger Games novel has been on the New York Times best seller list for over 100 consecutive weeks. Foreign rights for the book, published by Scholastic have been sold in 41 countries.

The Hunger Games is due to open on March 23rd 2012!