Josh Hutcherson, who plays Peeta, was in Times Square with “Good Morning America” to introduce the trailer and talk about the movie, telling fans:

"The characters and the story are just so interesting, it drives you to want to know what happens to Katniss and what journey she is going to take. The world of 'The Hunger Games' is so amazing."

Only a few short hours after its release, more than 5,000 Facebook fans have already hit ‘like’ on the trailer’s announcement showing that fans of the book may be changing their tune... “The LA Times” explains:

“The previously released movie stills for “The Hunger Games,” which hits theaters March 23, drew some ire from fans, who complained the cast was too old and too pretty to play the starving children of the post-apocalyptic world envisioned by [author] Suzanne Collins.”

The trailer was cut from the first half of the movie only, careful to avoid spoilers. “Entertainment Weekly” thinks the preview is strong enough to make a “Hunger Games” fan out of anyone.

“[The trailer] did not disappoint. Surely even the most determined haters felt their pulse quicken in that final countdown, before 24 children of Panem set off to fight to the death in front of television cameras. 3. 2. 1! I can’t think of a more brilliant way to end the trailer.”

But one blogger for MTV has a different take, saying that the trailer may be more confusing than anything.

“[For] those of you who haven't read ‘The Hunger Games,’ I can imagine some head-scratching over the new trailer.”

While the franchise may be able to fill a hole left by Harry Potter and the soon-to-be-finished Twilight series, Cinablend warns unfamiliar movie-goers that this isn’t exactly an upbeat children’s franchise.

“This might look a lot more grim and over-dramatic than you were expecting, and in some way that's necessary-- this is the big new teen-centric literary sensation in the vein of Twilight, but it's also way more violent and serious than that franchise ever dreamed of.”

The first Hunger Games movie hits theaters in March 2012. To watch the full trailer, check out the transcript section of this video. 

Transcript by Newsy.