The very same day Sunrise on the Reaping, Suzanne Collins’ fifth Hunger Games book, was announced, so was a movie adaptation. Lionsgate had previously jumped on announcing the movie version of Collins’ other Hunger Games prequel, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, but the sheer speed on this announcement was even quicker. The movie is set to come out November 2026, and with the book out just this past March, the turnaround is tight.
By the end of April — a little over a month after Sunrise on the Reaping hit shelves — we have a whole slate of confirmed cast members. And true to the Hunger Games formula, it’s a mix of relatively unknown young actors with promise, child stars with a shot at something new, and a few established adult actors who don’t detract from the lead roles, but instead use their existing personas to bring their characters to life. This specific equation hasn’t steered the Hunger Games movies wrong yet.
Breaking down the younger casts
Joseph Zada is set to play the younger version of Haymitch Abernathy, played by Woody Harrelson in the original movies. We don’t actually know if Harrelson is going to return for this movie, though he returned to voice the teaser. Zada currently stars in Stan’s Invisible Boys — and doesn’t even have a Wikipedia page. Meanwhile, Haymitch’s tragically doomed girlfriend Lenore Dove will be played by Whitney Peak, who appeared in the Gossip Girl reboot, the Hocus Pocus sequel, and a few episodes of The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina.
Suffice it to say: This is going to be a career launching pad for both of them. And this extends to other younger castmates, even when they’re more “established.” The role of Maysilee Donner, one of the tributes who accompanies Haymitch into the arena, will be played by Mckenna Grace. She has a pretty robust filmography, but many of her roles are younger versions of characters (incidentally, she appeared in The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina as younger Kiernan Shipka). Grace starred in the new-new Ghostbusters movies, but this’ll mark a new step in her career, too.
It’s pretty on par with the three young leads of the original Hunger Games movies. Jennifer Lawrence was cast fresh off her Oscar nomination for Winter’s Bone and while she was filming for X-Men: First Class, but still had relatively few credits under her belt. Liam Hemsworth had done that one Nicholas Sparks movie. And though Josh Hutcherson broke all our hearts in Bridge to Terabithia, much like Grace, he’d definitely been in the “child actor” boat for most of his career. The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes stars Tom Blyth and Rachel Zegler were in similar boats: Zegler had caught director Francis Lawrence’s eye after starring in Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story, but was still relatively new to the big screen, while Blyth had only been in a handful of small films and minor TV roles.
All of the young actors in the previous Hunger Games movies were a bit of a gamble in some way, but they were phenomenal in their roles. Even the more minor cast was perfectly chosen, with some going on to have big careers, like Jack Quaid and Amandla Stenberg. So much of Hunger Games casting felt like it legitimately minted younger stars by giving them prominence and a chance to showcase their talent, even in the more minor roles.
The special spice
But what really clinches the special Hunger Games casting formula is how perfectly the older, more established actors fit in. Movies and shows focusing on younger characters often risk casting adult roles with famous actors just for the name. This is especially true when the actors themselves (1) are so well known that even the target younger audience knows who they are off screen and (2) don’t really actually fit the characters they’re cast as. Consider how overpowering Lin-Manuel Miranda’s presence in His Dark Materials and Percy Jackson was. Man’s not even a cowboy!
The original Hunger Games movies avoided this by casting actors whose established outward personas made sense for their characters. Harrelson might not be a book-accurate Haymitch by looks, but he’s got a knack for playing snarky and self-deprecating characters. Lenny Kravitz as a cool, fashion-forward stylist? Stanley Tucci as a bubbly, gregarious game show host? Elizabeth Banks being a hyperactive and fussy chaperone? Yeah, that all makes sense. Donald Sutherland playing a dour-faced, cold dictator whose goodwill is built on cunning, deceptive charm also does. And in The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, it’s absolutely not hard to see Viola Davis as a calculating and cunning scientist, or Peter Dinklage as a brooding, jaded alcoholic who regrets his actions. They’re all actors with long, established careers, but notably not with a huge contrasting brand that would take away from the younger actors. Their casting twists and utilizes their star personas without making them the focal point.
So far, Sunrise on the Reaping only has one of these roles cast — and that is Jesse Plemons as Plutarch Heavensbee, the longtime secret rebel. In the original movies, he was played by Philip Seymour Hoffman. Plemons fits the bill the same way Hoffman did: an actor who could most definitely play the part of covert rebel by night, charming Capitol citizens by day. It’s indicative that the casting directors on Sunrise on the Reaping are holding true to the unspoken ethos that’s guided the Hunger Games movies to massive success. And I’m certain that the rest of the casting news will only continue this pattern — the odds are already in our favor.
Sunrise on the Reaping hits theaters Nov. 20, 2026.
