Exciting Casting Announcements for 'Sunrise on the Reaping' Film

Hunger Games enthusiasts have reason to celebrate. This week, the eagerly awaited adaptation of Suzanne Collins’s latest novel, Sunrise on the Reaping, began revealing its cast. This installment, set over two decades before the original Hunger Games series, promises a thrilling narrative.

Though the story takes place long before Jennifer Lawrence’s iconic portrayal of Katniss Everdeen, a familiar face returns. The tale focuses on a young Haymitch Abernathy, originally brought to life by Woody Harrelson. In Sunrise, we follow teenage Haymitch as he fights to survive the lethal Hunger Games while defying the oppressive Capitol’s tyranny, which has mercilessly thrown 48 children into the brutal arena.

The movie follows the 2023 adaptation of The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, featuring Tom Blyth as a young President Snow and Rachel Zegler as the singer Lucy Gray Baird, who is thrust into the Hunger Games. The Sunrise on the Reaping novel just became available on March 18, yet fans are already eager to discover the new film’s star lineup. Scheduled to premier on November 20, 2026, here’s who we know is set to appear.

Joseph Zada as Haymitch Abernathy
In Sunrise on the Reaping, Haymitch, famously rugged in Harrelson’s rendition, is depicted as a 16-year-old struggling to endure in District 12 when unexpected events lead him into the Hunger Games arena—on his birthday no less. We may be familiar with Haymitch’s fate, but Sunrise lays the groundwork for the eventual rebellion against the tyrannical President Snow, led by Katniss and her allies.

Joseph Zada, an emerging talent from Australia, is about to make waves. He is set to feature in two awaited TV series: East of Eden on Netflix, alongside Florence Pugh, and We Were Liars on Prime Video this summer. He also had a role in this year’s Australian series Invisible Boys.

Whitney Peak as Lenore Dove Baird
Lenore Dove is part of the Covey, a group of traveling entertainers, reminiscent of Lucy Gray Baird’s role in The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. She holds the role of Haymitch’s long-time love.

Whitney Peak gained fame as the star of the Gossip Girl reboot on Max, in addition to roles in The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina and Hocus Pocus 2. She also made an appearance in Sabrina Carpenter’s music video for “Nonsense.”

McKenna Grace as Maysilee Donner
Maysilee Donner, the shopkeeper’s daughter, is another District 12 tribute in the oversized Hunger Games alongside Haymitch. In the book, she originally owns the Mockingjay pin later associated with Katniss — a detail omitted from the earlier films. Within the arena, she and Haymitch form a crucial alliance despite their rocky start.

McKenna Grace, a versatile singer and actress, gained attention for her performance as young Tonya Harding in I, Tonya. Her TV roles include appearances in The Haunting of Hill House and Designated Survivor before starring in the reboot Ghostbusters: Afterlife and The Handmaid’s Tale, for which she earned an Emmy nomination. She is also set to star in Colleen Hoover’s adaptation, Regretting You.

Jesse Plemons as Plutarch Heavensbee
Fans of the original series know Plutarch Heavensbee as the Head Gamemaker during the 75th Hunger Games. In Sunrise on the Reaping, he appears as a privileged Capitol-born cameraman, ambitiously climbing the hierarchy while secretly plotting against Snow.

Plemons gained fame in the series Friday Night Lights as Landry and has since impressed audiences with roles in Breaking Bad, Fargo, and Black Mirror. His film career kicked off with The Master in 2012, acting opposite Philip Seymour Hoffman, who portrayed an older Plutarch in the original films. Plemons later featured in The Post, The Irishman, The Power of the Dog, Game Night, and Killers of the Flower Moon. He’s back on Black Mirror this year, reprising his role in the sequel to the “U.S.S. Callister” episode.