If only we had more casting news for The Hunger Games… oh wait, it is yet another day, so we must have some. Lionsgate has officially announced the actor who will take on the role of President Snow, the leader of the nation of Panem. The actor is none other than the legendary Donald Sutherland, a man who has almost a half-century of acting credits to his name and an iconic voice that has been heard in a vast number of television series’, commercials and movies throughout the years.

Check out the full press release below for all the details on his role in The Hunger Games.

DONALD SUTHERLAND CAST AS PRESIDENT SNOW IN LIONSGATE’S THE HUNGER GAMES

LOS ANGELES, CA, May 31, 2011- Lionsgate® and the filmmakers of THE HUNGER GAMES are pleased to announce that Donald Sutherland has been cast in the role of President Snow in the much anticipated film adaptation of Suzanne Collins’ worldwide smash hit novel.

SUTHERLAND, star of such iconic films as M*A*S*H, Ordinary People , Klute and Kelly’s Heroes, will next be seen in this summer’s comedy, Horrible Bosses and recently starred in The Mechanic with Jason Statham and Ben Foster, The Eagle with Channing Tatum and the highly-successful long form adaptation of Ken Follett’s The Pillars of the Earth.

About The Role

President Snow has been the autocratic ruler of Panem and its contained districts for some 25 years at the outset of the story. With a snake-like appearance, he is cruel and ruthless in his intimidation and control tactics.

About The Film

Every year in the ruins of what was once North America, the nation of Panem forces each of its twelve districts to send a teenage boy and girl to compete in the Hunger Games. Part twisted entertainment, part 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 will be directed by Gary Ross, and produced by Nina Jacobson’s Color Force in tandem with producer Jon Kilik. Collins’ best-selling novel, which has over 3 million copies in print in the United States alone, is the first in a trilogy of novels which have developed a global following.

Lionsgate will release “The Hunger Games” on March 23, 2012.

In other Hunger Games news…

Deadline reports that Lionsgate hopes to turn The Hunger Games trilogy into a quadrilogy by breaking the final book into two movies, much in the same way that Warner Bros. did with the final book in the Harry Potter franchise.

The Hunger Games is slated to hit theaters on March 23rd, 2012.