"Hunger Games" fans, don't say we never did anything for you. Here's the deal: We know that devotees of the literary series have been seriously clamoring to know which actors will be joining the Panem population for the next film, "Catching Fire"...so when MTV News' Josh Horowitz scored some time alone with director Gary Ross, he trapped the man in a tiny room, held him down and tickled him mercilessly until he admitted who he had in mind.
...Okay, yeah, no he didn't. (Although we totally told him to!) But he did ask, and while some fans will be disappointed (mostly that Gary has not, despite a massive push from the fanbase, offered the part of Finnick exclusively to Armie Hammer), any actors hoping to snag the sequel's most desirable roles (hello, Kristen Bell!) will probably be relieved to hear that the casting for "Catching Fire" is as open and unsettled as can be.
"I'm only just getting finished with this," Gary laughed. "I have not had a chance to focus yet. I'm really looking forward to it, but that moment hasn't happened yet."
And how about Finnick?
"No," Gary insisted, although he's as aware as anyone that the rumors have been flying fast and furious—and that it's his own dang fault. "I mean, somewhere—I know it was in the press, I said I had an idea for Finnick Odair. But I don't, really. You start to have ideas as you read, obviously I read the books several times, and I went, oh, this guy might be good or that guy might be good. And then I made the terrible mistake of saying that to the press."
And when the time does come to cast "Catching Fire," Gary will only say that it'll be serious business and that anything could happen.
"There will be a whole process," he assured us. "We're going to be very thorough."
Related:
'Catching Fire': Who Should Play Finnick Odair?
Kristen Bell Seeks Manager For Her 'Catching Fire' Campaign
Who are you hoping to see cast in "Catching Fire"? Sound off in the comments and on Twitter!