Sunrise on the Reaping will continue the Hunger Games movie franchise next year, with some interesting casting rumors starting to surface. Suzanne Collins’ fifth Hunger Games novel and second prequel hit bookstores in March 2025, recounting all the details of the 50th Hunger Games, won by Katniss Everdeen’s future mentor Haymitch Abernathy. Sunrise on the Reaping‘s movie adaptation was announced swiftly after the book was confirmed, with a rapid book-to-movie timeline of about a year and a half between the two releases. This feat was previously achieved with the first Hunger Games prequel, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.
Thus, time is of the essence, and casting for Sunrise on the Reaping is underway, to begin filming promptly. Of course, most of the discussion is about who will play a teenage Haymitch, when the role was taken on by Woody Harrelson in the Hunger Games movie trilogy. Also challenging for the casting team is the role of a middle-aged President Snow, the search for a successor to the late Donald Sutherland also garnering much attention. However, if the latest casting rumors and first such reports for this movie are true, there is seemingly a coincidental twist involved with this movie’s cast.
Charlie Plummer & Ralph Fiennes Are Reportedly In Talks To Play Haymitch & Snow In Sunrise On The Reaping
Plummer & Fiennes Are Both Solid Choices For These Hunger Games Roles
According to Nexus Point News, 25-year-old actor Charlie Plummer is being considered to portray Haymitch in Sunrise on the Reaping, while recent Oscar nominee Ralph Fiennes has already been offered the role of President Snow. Plummer hasn’t really been talked about as a possibility for Haymitch among media and fan groups but is a promising contender, with the looks to somewhat pᴀss as a young Woody Harrelson and plenty of dramatic acting experience. Plummer is most well-known for playing the lead role in the TV miniseries adaptation of John Green’s Looking for Alaska and starring in the coming-of-age drama Lean on Pete.
Fiennes, on the other hand, is a very predictable yet dependable choice for the franchise’s second President Snow recast. The Hunger Games has a long history of casting veteran A-listers in the adult roles, and Fiennes is an industry staple and a three-time Oscar nominee. He is also well-established as an actor who can play a legendary villain, known for portraying the main antagonist in the landmark historical drama Schindler’s List and the infamous Lord Voldemort in Harry Potter. Adopting a new villainous persona as the manipulative politician that is President Snow is well within his wheelhouse.
Ralph Fiennes & Charlie Plummer Previously Played Father & Son In The Return
Plummer & Fiennes Would Be Portraying A Very Different Dynamic In Sunrise On The Reaping
Where the irony comes in is that Plummer and Fiennes very recently starred alongside each other in Uberto Pasolini’s The Return, based on Homer’s The Odyssey. Haymitch and Snow have an antagonistic, poisonous dynamic in Sunrise on the Reaping, mirroring how Snow psychologically torments Katniss when she becomes a major influencer of the socio-political state of Panem. Sunrise on the Reaping reveals that Haymitch came much closer to being this than we realized, as he participated in a failed rebel plot to bring down the 50th Hunger Games and intentionally tried to paint himself as a rebel symbol.
Sunrise on the Reaping could benefit from the layered on-screen rapport these actors have already portrayed.
On the other hand, Plummer’s Telemachus is Fiennes’ Odysseus’ son in The Return, having a tense but ultimately protective and loyal relationship. The Return focuses on the events that transpire at the very end of The Odyssey when Odysseus finally makes it back to Ithaca, to find his wife being harᴀssed by suitors and his son being hunted as the rightful heir to the kingdom. The Return deals with Odysseus and Telemachus’ personal revelations but also their responsibility to the kingdom, and Sunrise on the Reaping could benefit from the layered on-screen rapport these actors have already portrayed.
Sunrise On The Reaping Is Coming Out Alongside The Odyssey In 2026
Plummer & Fiennes May Be Competing With A Different Version Of Their Previous Movie
A further coincidence may arise in 2026 if Plummer and Fiennes are cast in Sunrise on the Reaping, with the impending release of Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey. In contrast to The Return, The Odyssey is expected to be a more typical adaptation of the ancient text, at least following the main narrative of Odysseus’ long journey home and the many mythical beings he encounters along the way. While The Odyssey‘s cast is confirmed, most of the actors’ specific roles have not been announced yet, besides Matt Damon being Odysseus. However, Tom Holland is speculated to be playing Telemachus.
Sunrise on the Reaping and The Odyssey won’t really be box office compeтιтors, as they will come out several months apart. However, they do stand to be two of the biggest movies of 2026, at least in the scale of the production if not in reception. Sunrise on the Reaping still has many characters left to cast, and further announcements will surely raise anticipation. As always, it is possible that people will draw connections to actors’ past roles, to inform their arguments for how this movie will take shape.
Source: Nexus Point News
