The first preview of the upcoming movie “The Hunger Games,” which is based on Suzanne Collins’s bestselling science fiction trilogy, debuted during Sunday’s Video Music Awards ceremony.
Though short, the highly anticipated clip features Academy Award nominee Jennifer Lawrence as the embattled, poor main character Katniss running through the woods. The movie itself depicts a dystopian future in a city hosting the annual Hunger Games, which requires one boy and one girl to fight to the death. When Katniss’s sister is randomly selected to participate in the gladiator-esque duel, Katniss volunteers herself instead.
The plot complicates when Katniss learns she’s going to battle Peeta, a mysterious boy who had previously given her bread when she’d been on the verge of starvation. Previously released film stills show “Last Song” Australian hottie Liam Hemsworth as Gale, Katniss’s best male friend, and “Kids Are All Right” star Josh Hutcherson as Peeta.
The cast also includes “Our Idiot Brother” actress Elizabeth Banks as Katniss’s guide Effie, Academy Award nominee Stanley Tucci as interviewer Caesar, “MASH” star Donald Sutherland, “Friends with Benefits” actor Woody Harrelson as town drunk Haymitch Abernathy, “American Beauty” star Wes Bentley as head gamemaker Seneca, and singer Lenny Kravitz as stylist Cinna.
WATCH: “Hunger Games” teaser