Ralph Fiennes‘ new villain role has given him a prominent position in yet another major young adult franchise. The actor, who has been nominated for three Oscars (for Schindler’s List, The English Patient, and Conclave), is a versatile performer, though he frequently plays villains. Ralph Fiennes movies in which he has been given villain roles include the aforementioned Schindler’s List, The Menu, In Bruges, and Wrath of the тιтans. However, his most iconic villain is likely Lord Voldemort, the dark wizard who is trying to conquer death and take over the world in the Harry Potter movie franchise.
While Fiennes is not the only actor who played Lord Voldemort in Harry Potter, once he joined the cast of the franchise in the fourth installment, Goblet of Fire, he was the main actor to portray the sinister villain whenever he faced off against Harry (Daniel Radcliffe). This role introduced the celebrated actor to a new generation of fans and was followed by him getting even more roles in тιтles aimed towards the same demographic, including Wrath of the тιтans, The Lego Batman Movie, and his most recently announced role.
Ralph Fiennes Is Playing President Snow In Hunger Games After Being Voldemort For Harry Potter
He Is The Latest Actor To Step Into The Role
Ralph Fiennes is now set to portray President Coriolanus Snow in the upcoming The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping. The character, who is the President of the dystopian nation of Panem in the original movies, was originally played by Emmy winner Donald Sutherland, who died from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in 2024. While there are many secondary villains in the franchise, Snow is the character who pulls the strings from his comfortable position in the Capitol, where the rich live in luxury and excess while the populations of Panem’s other districts suffer.
The Hunger Games movies are adapted from the young adult novel series of the same name by Suzanne Collins.
The franchise has continued on beyond the timeline of the original movies, which followed Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) and how her fight to survive the ᴅᴇᴀᴅly Hunger Games transforms her into the symbol of a nationwide rebellion. In 2023, the prequel Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes was released, starring Tom Blyth as a young President Snow embracing his darker side 64 years before the events of the original movie. Sunrise on the Reaping, while still a prequel, takes place 40 years after Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, which explains why the 30-year-old Blyth has been recast with the 62-year-old Fiennes.
Ralph Fiennes Now Has The Main Villain Role In Two Of The Biggest YA Movie Franchises Of All Time
The Hunger Games & Harry Potter Are Huge Blockbuster Series
Joining the cast of the Hunger Games movies will allow Fiennes another opportunity to star in a mᴀssive blockbuster young adult franchise. Although only five installments have been released in theaters so far, per The Numbers, they have collectively grossed $3.303 billion worldwide. This makes the franchise the 21st highest-grossing movie franchise of all time worldwide across any age demographic and the third highest-grossing young adult franchise behind Twilight (which is the 20th highest-grossing franchise with $3.310 billion) and Harry Potter (which is the third highest-grossing with $9.563 billion, behind Star Wars and the Marvel Cinematic Universe).
Sunrise on the Reaping… should earn enough for The Hunger Games to overtake Twilight.
Once Sunrise on the Reaping premieres, even if it becomes a major flop, it should earn enough for The Hunger Games to overtake Twilight and become the second highest-grossing young adult movie franchise of all time, because the franchises are currently only separated by $6.7 million. This would mean that, by playing Voldemort in the Harry Potter movies and Snow in the Hunger Games movies, Fiennes will soon have portrayed the main villain in the two biggest young adult movie franchises of all time.
President Snow Will Be A Very Different Villain Role For Ralph Fiennes Than Voldemort
The Role Of Snow Will Require A Very Different Skillset
There are many differences between Ralph Fiennes‘ two huge YA franchise villain characters that extend beyond the fact that one has magical powers and the other exists in a more realistic world (though Snow does possess access to futuristic technology). Voldemort is a more outwardly wicked and emotion-driven character who rules via sheer magical power alone, whereas Snow as of the time of Sunrise on the Reaping is cold and calculating and knows how to wield charm when it serves him politically, a skill that the nearly inhuman wizard had lost by the time of Goblet of Fire.
Source(s): The Numbers
