Woody Harrelson Of THE HUNGER GAMES Explains Why He Was Never ‘Encouraged’ By Sequels

For those of us who’ve read Suzanne Collins‘ book, THE HUNGER GAMES and can’t wait for the adaptation to arrive, we know that Woody Harrelson would play Haymitch Abernathy who pretty much trains District 12′s contenders, Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) and Peeta (Josh Hutcherson).
Now, Woody is not an actor that you usually see doing big franchises and sequels, and so when I chatted with him at the press day for his new film, RAMPART, I asked him why he decided to join THE HUNGER GAMES which of course is a potential franchise, seeing that the book itself had sequels..

“The Hunger Games,.. that is a weird thing because it’s not that I don’t believe in sequels, because sometimes they are great like.. what was the one.. the one with.. Babe!
Babe 2 was better than Babe 1, but it’s rare
It’s so rare that the sequel is even as good as the original, that’s why I’m never that encouraged by the concept, but in this case, there’s definitely the possibility of sequels, but only if the movie does well, obviously.”

About THE HUNGER GAMES
Every year in the ruins of what was once North America, the evil Capitol of the nation of Panem forces each of its twelve districts to send a teenage boy and girl to compete in the Hunger Games. A twisted punishment for a past uprising and an ongoing 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.

THE HUNGER GAMES is directed by Gary Ross, and produced by Nina Jacobson’s Color Force in tandem with producer Jon Kilik. Suzanne Collins’ best-selling novel, the first in a trilogy published by Scholastic that has over 16 million copies in print in the United States alone, has developed a massive global following.

Lionsgate will release THE HUNGER GAMES on March 23, 2012.