Put away your pitchforks: Robert Pattinson says he isn't playing Finnick Odair in "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire."
"I was kind of curious for a second. So I called my agent," Pattinson told USA Today when asked about the casting rumor. "My agent was like, 'No. ... No one's going to offer you that part.'"
Said Pattinson, with a laugh, "I was like, thanks for the reassurance."
While the "Twilight" star might feign disappointment over not being considered for "Catching Fire," fans of the Suzanne Collins best-selling trilogy-turned-blockbuster film series are likely breathing a sigh of relief. When the rumor that Pattinson was up for the role of Finnick hit the internet last week, "Hunger Games" devotees became apoplectic -- as THR notes, the hashtag #PattinsonIsNotFinnick trended on Twitter last Thursday.
"As with the first film, we won't be confirming, denying or commenting any casting rumors for this title," Lionsgate told HuffPost Entertainment in a statement last week about the Pattinson rumor. "We will announce news wide when there is official casting news to announce."
Expect some announcement enough: "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire" will start shooting later this summer. Directed by Francis Lawrence, it's set to hit theaters on Nov. 22, 2013.