The Hunger Games – Liam Hemsworth as Gale Hawthorne

We have a new photo of Liam Hemsworth as Gale Hawthorne in The Hunger Games, courtesy of photographer Murray Close and the official Hunger Games Facebook page.

While there’s no official info on the image, I’d have to agree with the numerous comments that suggest the scene takes place during the Reaping, hinted at by the presence of the Peacekeepers and the fact that everyone appears to be very clean.

For newbies to The Hunger Games, the Reaping is an annual event held in every district where the Tributes for the Games are selected. All the potential contestants assemble for the huge televised event and the escort randomly selects the name of one male and one female to represent the district in the reality game show from hell.

It’s cool to see all the pics that have been rolling out, especially the one that shows Gale and Katniss talking, but I’m dying to see a few other people decked out in their Hunger Games garb. Bring on Woody Harrelson as Haymitch, Lenny Kravitz as Cenna, or Stanley Tucci as Caesar Flickerman. I’m all for focusing on the major players, but there are plenty of non-Tributes that I’m sure fans would love to see.

The Hunger Games arrives in theaters on March 23, 2012 and Catching Fire is expected to hit the big screen towards the end of 2013.