The Hunger Games has become a most unique hit. While young adult adaptations tend to pander to the converted, all but alienating those not already addicted to the source novels (hello Twilight), the dystopian sci-fi has managed to tap into the mainstream, balancing the swoon-inducing romance with confident, large-scale action. Everyone knew it would be big, but no one expected it to be this good. It's now the franchise to beat, with countless other similar series being brought to life, albeit to distinctly less success. What The Hunger Games has that Divergent or The Maze Runner intrinsically lack (aside from a first movie that actually worked on its own) is the characters, who feel like real people, rather than avatars of teenage angst. The quality of acting involved certainly helps. We're so used to Josh Hutcherson as Peeta Mellark, Sam Claflin as Finnick Odair, Jena Malone as Johanna Mason and, of course, Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen that it's nigh on impossible to imagine a group of other actors inhabiting Panem. But obviously - the cast could have been very different. With The Hunger Games: Mockingjay: Part 1 flying into cinemas this week, take a look back through the series' production and see who could have been heading up the revolution instead.
