Elizabeth Banks 'excited to join Hunger Games'

Elizabeth Banks has officially confirmed that she has joined the cast of The Hunger Games.

The actress, who recently welcomed her first child with husband Max Handleman via a surrogate, was reported to have signed up to the adaptation earlier in the month and took to Twitter to confirm the news today.

Setting a teaser for her followers, Banks tweeted: "Guess who said this, 'I'm smiling at you even though you're aggravating me.'"

She later revealed: "Yes! And I can now confirm I'm EFFIE TRINKET in @TheHungerGames. So excited! RT @ohpoorsam Effie Trinket! (sic)"

The film is based on the Suzanne Collins novel of the same name and is scheduled for a March 2012 release.

In the Collins books, Effie Trinket works as a District 12 escort for lead character Katniss Everdeen and is famous for sporting brightly-coloured wigs.

Other names confirmed for the movie include Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson.