‘Hunger Games’ producer revealed this big casting mistake for the first movie

In theaters around the country right now, fans are flocking in to see the final installment of the Hunger Games quartet. Mockingjay – Part 2 is now playing, and this means there are no more Hunger Games movies out there on the horizon. UPSETTING, I know. But now that we’re at the end, there’s no better time to look back at the beginning, which is exactly what one of the producers of Hunger Games is doing. Reflecting on that first film, she’s ready to admit that she made a terrible mistake.

While the first movie might be near and dear to your heart since it kicked off the whole HG frenzy, producer Nina Jacobson is coming clean about the fact that one role in the film was completely miscast. Or maybe I should say, miscat.

No, Jacobson isn’t here to admit that Jennifer Lawrence is not the perfect Katniss Everdeen, the issue is really her cat, well, her sister’s cat. The wrong feline was cast as Buttercup in the movie, and it’s bothered Jacobson ever since. In the books, Buttercup is described as a muddy-looking cat, and Prim insists that his coloring looks like the flower. However, the cat cast to play Buttercup was black and white.

“I don’t know how that happened because somehow or another, I missed the casting of that cat,” Jacobson explained to People, “I get to set the day that we’re shooting, and the cat just shows up and it’s a big black-and-white cat. And I was like, ‘What’s that in doing here? That’s not Buttercup!’ And I couldn’t get a new cat!”

From Jacobson’s admission, it sounds like this not-Buttercup kept her up at night.

“I was really obsessed with it for a long time,” she continued. “You know, ‘Can we reshoot that? Can we digitally alter the cat?’ And [Hunger Games author] Suzanne [Collins] also was just like, ‘That’s not Buttercup! That’s a black-and-white cat!’”

Thankfully, the issue resolved itself when Francis Lawrence joined Hunger Games as a director, and he was A-OK with recasting a new cat. Jacobson was thrilled. “I called Suzanne and said, ‘I met a really wonderful director, and good news: He wants to recast the cat!’”

Lo and behold, the TRUE Buttercup:

Now that’s a puuurfect Hollywood ending.

Images via Lionsgate, Giphy