Welcome To 'Catching Fire,' Jeffrey Wright

Hm. Well, it's perhaps not exactly where this particular role was rumored to be headed. Still, no fan anxiously awaiting "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire" should find anything amiss.

Ladies, gentlemen, patriots of Panem....do give a warm welcome to Jeffrey Wright, announced by Lionsgate and reported by E! Online Friday as the man who will be Beetee. The role of the District 3 tribute so adept with electronics as to be nicknamed "Volts" was once considered likely to go to soft-spoken, quirky character-acting veteran Tony Shalhoub of USA's "Monk" fame. Whatever the reason why that might've fallen through, Wright's no slouch of a choice.

He's recently popped up as CIA agent Felix Leiter in Sony's most recent two James Bond offerings, 2006's "Casino Royale" and 2008's direct sequel "Quantum of Solace." In addition, he played Colin Powell in Oliver Stone's presidential biopic "W." and artist Jean-Michel Basquiat in 2008's less-widely released "Basquiat."

He joins such other recent casting announcements as Sam Clafin as trident-chucking District 4 tribute Odair and TV veteran Meta Golding as District 2's vicious Enorabia. "Catching Fire" focuses on a victorious Katniss Everdeen (the returning Jennifer Lawrence) embarking on the Victor's Tour with previous tributes across Panem's districts while The Capital engineers the next Hunger Games, the pivotal Quarter Quell.

Despite filming being set to begin soon, Lawrence's fellow break-out co-stars Josh Hutcherson and Liam Hemsworth have been rumored since early August to watch a sti-down with Lionsgate brass to renegotiate their sequel deals. The pair reportedly became disappointed with their promised "Catching Fire" pay after Lawrence received a bump from her $500,000 pay for "The Hunger Games" to $10 million for "Catching Fire."

Otherwise, "Catching Fire" is set to co-star Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Woody Harrelson, Stanley Tucci, Elizabeth Banks and others when it hits theaters everywhere on Nov. 22, 2013.