New 'Hunger Games' Stills And Set Photos [Gallery]

As excited I am for Gary Ross' The Hunger Games, even I have to admit that some of the earlier news bits and marketing materials to trickle out were less than thrilling. Remember the time they spread out the very minor tribute casting announcements over weeks and weeks? Or those one-second clips they put out in advance of the teaser?

But thankfully, as the production has begun picking up speed, Lionsgate has been offering up better, more interesting stuff, like this new crop of gloriously high-res stills and set photos. Though not all of them are totally new — I believe we've already seen some of these images before, and we've definitely glimpsed several of these scenes in the trailer — I'm still happy to have some crystal-clear images of Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence), Cinna (Lenny Kravitz), Peeta (Josh Hutcherson), Rue (Amandla Stenberg), and others to feast my eyes on. Check out the gallery after the jump.

Head over to Collider for the super high-res versions of some of these images.

Lionsgate hasn't been shy about showing off images from the film, but it's nice to see that they're still keeping a few things close to the vest. We've seen precious little of the actual Games, for example. Not that I'm complaining; I'd much rather have a few surprises in store for me when the film hits in a few months.

Also starring Liam Hemsworth, Elizabeth Banks, and Woody Harrelson, The Hunger Games opens March 23, 2012.

Official synopsis:

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.