Fans of The Hunger Games franchise have been watching with bated breath as the casting choices for Suzanne Collins’s latest novel, Sunrise on the Reaping, have been announced.
Based on Suzanne Collins’s bestselling dystopian novels, the original film series starring Jennifer Lawrence followed 16-year-old Katniss Everdeen as she became a participant in the 74th Hunger Games — a brutal event designed to suppress rebellion in the districts surrounding the oppressive Capitol. The twisted contest forces each district to send a boy and a girl, chosen by lottery, to compete in a deadly televised battle until only one survivor remains.
The original film series ran from 2012 to 2015, grossing over $3.3 billion worldwide. In 2023, a prequel starring Tom Blyth and Rachel Zegler (The Ballads of Songbirds & Snakes) hit theaters, grossing over $300 million.
The new movie, slated to be released on November 20, 2026 and based on Collins’s March 2025 book, will focus on Katniss’s mentor, Haymitch Abernathy, as he is chosen as one of the four tributes from District 12 to compete in the 50th Annual Hunger Games, also called the Second Quarter Quell.
This prequel will take place 24 years before Katniss volunteered in lieu of her sister, and 40 years after the events of The Ballads of Songbirds & Snakes, which followed the evolution of antagonist Coriolanus Snow.
So far, Lionsgate has revealed who will be playing Haymitch, his love interest Lenore Dove Baird, Maysilee Donner, Plutarch Heavensbee, and Beetee. Other cast members will likely be revealed in the coming months.
Here is how the new cast compares to the old.
Haymitch Abernathy
While the character was originated on screen by Woody Harrelson, the younger version of Haymitch will be played by 20-year-old Joseph Zada. Zada is currently playing the lead role in the Stan Australia Original Series Invisible Boys, based on the bestselling novel by Holden Sheppard.
Plutarch Heavensbee
The Head Gamemaker for the 75th Hunger Games and secret rebel-insider was played by the late Philip Seymour Hoffman in the original films. The younger version in Sunrise on The Reaping will be played by Oscar-nominated actor Jesse Plemons.
Beetee
Fans are first introduced to Beetee in Catching Fire as a victor from District 3, first played by Jeffrey Wright. In the 50th games, he’ll be mentoring the tributes from his district, and was announced as Kelvin Harrison Jr. by Lionsgate on May 12.
Maysilee Donner
While not a character who physically appears within the original franchise, Maysilee is known as the original owner of the mockingjay pin that Katniss is known for wearing. In Sunrise on the Reaping, she will be played by Mckenna Grace, known for her roles in The Haunting of Hill House and The Handmaid’s Tale.
Lenore Dove Baird
Haymitch’s love interest is introduced for the first time in Sunrise on the Reaping. She hails from a nomadic group named the Covey. Whitney Peak, who is known for her roles as Zoya Lott in Max’s Gossip Girl reboot and was also in Netflix’s Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, is set to take on the role.
