'Hunger Games' heroine Katniss Everdeen becomes – a Barbie doll?

In your dose of irony for the day, toy company Mattel recently announced that a Barbie version of “Hunger Games” heroine Katniss Everdeen is due to be released soon.

The doll is only the latest in a slew of “Games” merchandise that’s been produced to accompany the new movie. Other items have included action figures of main characters, nail polish (which also seems a an odd match with the dystopian world of Suzanne Collins’ trilogy), multiple book tie-ins, and even a workout class titled “Train Like A Tribute,” to be offered in New York, Boston, Philadelphia, and other cities. 

Dolls of other popular movie and TV characters like “Twilight”’s Bella Swan and “Mad Men”’s Don Draper as well as doll versions of real-life figures like Duchess of Cambridge Kate Middleton have been created, but a plastic Katniss seems like an odd fit for many, especially since some associate the Barbie brand mostly  with sequined outfits, small plastic high heels, and luxurious toy cars.

“It’s hard to imagine little kids reenacting the bloody combat of the Hunger Games in Barbie’s Malibu dream house,” Crushable writer Natalie Zutter wrote about the newest “Hunger Games” tie-in.

Cafemom writer Julie Ryan Evans expressed concern that a Katniss Barbie would go over the heads of girls who are too young to read Collins’ series anyway.

“The problem is that by the time girls are old enough to be reading ‘Hunger Games’ they're probably getting too old for Barbies,” Evans wrote.

However, Mattel told the Hollywood Reporter that the newest Barbie will be aimed at adult collectors rather than the usual Barbie audience. 

The Katniss Barbie is scheduled to be released later this year.

Molly Driscoll is a Monitor contributor.