Lionsgate has been bringing out the big guns for the casting of The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping, and it isn’t stopping anytime soon. Billy Porter (Cinderella, Pose) and eight-time Oscar nominee Glenn Close (Fatal Attraction, The Deliverance) are the latest additions to the roster, with the latter playing Drusilla Sickle, the cruel escort to the District 12 tributes.
Meanwhile, Porter will portray Magno Stift, her estranged husband and designer to the tributes. The pair follows the reveal of Maya Hawke’s (Stranger Things, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood) casting as Wiress, the eccentric and intelligent victor from District 3, and Karate Kid: Legends star Ben Wang as District 12 tribute Wyatt Callow.
The sprawling ensemble is led by Joseph Zada (Invisible Boys), who assumes the role of a young Haymitch Abernathy, joining Whitney Peak (Chilling Adventures of Sabrina) as Lenore Dove Baird, Mckenna Grace (Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire) as Maysilee Donner, Jesse Plemons (Breaking Bad) as Plutarch Heavensbee, Kelvin Harrison Jr. (Chevalier) as Beetee, Lili Taylor (The Conjuring) as Mags, Ralph Fiennes (Harry Potter) as President Snow, Elle Fanning (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button) as Effie Trinket, and Kieran Culkin (Home Alone) as Caesar Flickerman.
It’s a stacked list, and one can only wonder just how much budget was poured into the production of the film. Francis Lawrence, the franchise veteran who has directed every theatrical release since 2012’s Catching Fire, is back at the helm, with Billy Ray penning the screenplay. Nina Jacobson and Brad Simpson serve as producers, while Cameron MacConomy will executive produce.
Based on Suzanne Collins’ novel of the same name, Sunrise on the Reaping is set before the original Hunger Games trilogy, opening on the 50th Hunger Games — the violent, bloody Second Quarter Quell that formed a defining chapter in Haymitch’s story. He would later become Katniss’ mentor in the original trilogy, played by Woody Harrelson in the Jennifer Lawrence-led movies.
The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping opens in cinemas on 20 November 2026.
Si Jia is a casual geek at heart – or as casual as someone with Sephiroth’s theme on her Spotify playlist can get. A fan of movies, games, and Japanese culture, Si Jia’s greatest weakness is the Steam Summer Sale. Or any Steam sale, really.
