Update: Apple seem to have botched the unveiling of the trailer and it went down from their site quickly after going live but thankfully someone grabbed it on Youtube and we have added the trailer below.

Having never read any of Suzanne Collins’ novel series The Hunger Games I’m totally going in blind for this movie but the first full-length trailer for Lionsgate’s first film adaptation played on Good Morning America today and is now available online at Apple HD and I’m intrigued.

This is way more substantial a trailer than the small preview from a few months back and shows a helluva lot more, plenty to keep the rabid bunch of screaming fans happy but also enough to get newbies like me sitting up and taking notice. The tone of the movie feels dark, murky, and potentially violent (the premise is basically a Hollywood version of Asian classic ‘Battle Royale’ from the sounds of things…) and although a little Twilight-esque over dramatic, there seems to be a lot more on it’s mind than other recent big teen sensation fodder.

The Hunger Games is set in a dystopian future in which a totalitarian government sits on what was once North America, and now controls the behaviour of those states through the distribution of food supplies. These states are then charged with sending a representative child between the age of 12 and 18 to battle to the death to feed their state. Jennifer Lawrence is our lead named Katniss, who volunteers to take the place of her younger sister in the games.

So not your usual big budget, teen-led March blockbuster, especially one revealed on Good Morning America…

The trailer does a great job in setting up the world, the premise and the design of the picture and cuts back on the action but there’s still four months away from this one getting close to release so it’s certainly done it’s job to tease.

Seabiscuit and Pleasentville director Gary Ross is the man behind the camera with support coming from Liam Hesmworth, Josh Hutcherson, Elizabeth Banks, Stanley Tucci, Woody Harrelson, Donald Sutherland, Toby Jones and many, many more… even including Lenny Kravitz.

All the acting looks great… and if you are in any doubt that Jennifer Lawrence is the real deal, then not only should you re-watch Winter’s Bone and X-Men: First Class but pay attention to this movie when it opens. Though one thing… we aren’t quite sold on Elizabeth Banks’ hairstyle.

Watch the trailer online at Apple and check back soon for the full embed.

Lionsgate will release The Hunger Games on March 23, 2012

Want to write about the stuff you're passionate about and have your work read by an audience of over 10 million a month? Click here to become a contributor.