“Sunrise on the Reaping” cast and character guide: Meet the stars rounding out Haymitch's origin story

Key Points

• Sunrise on the Reaping is set 24 years prior to the events of the Hunger Games trilogy.

• Joseph Zada stars as a 16-year-old Haymitch Abernathy, the character played by Woody Harrelson in the original films.

• Jesse Plemons, Maya Hawke, and Elle Fanning round out the supporting cast.

Hungry for more Hunger Games ? You're in luck — Sunrise on the Reaping , Suzanne Collins ' latest trip to Panem, is destined for the big screen.

Collins' book only arrived in March, but production on the film adaptation is already underway, with multiple cast members announced and a Nov. 20, 2026, release date.

Set more than two decades prior to the events of the original Hunger Games trilogy, Sunrise on the Reaping serves as an origin story for Haymitch Abernathy , the boozy oaf and fierce mentor played by Woody Harrelson in the films.

Haymitch is just 16 during the events of Sunrise on the Reaping , which finds ample political and romantic intrigue as our hero prepares for the 50th Hunger Games event. Fans may have an idea how the bloodbath ends, but they'll likely be unprepared to see Haymitch so vulnerable (and sober).

Below, we've put together a list of who's playing who (and where you might know them from). Only a handful of castings have been announced thus far, but be sure to bookmark this page since we'll be updating it as we learn more. After all, there are a lot of familiar faces left to be cast. Read on for our Sunrise on the Reaping cast and character guide.

Joseph Zada as Haymitch Abernathy

Australian-born actor Joseph Zada has primarily appeared in Down Under productions like Total Control (2024) and Invisible Boys (2025), but his upcoming performances will introduce him to a global audience.

This summer, Zada will appear in Amazon's We Were Liars , and he'll soon star alongside Florence Pugh and Mike Faist in Zoe Kazan's Netflix adaptation of John Steinbeck's East of Eden .

Zada stars as Haymitch Abernathy, who fans first met as the tipsy, embittered mentor of Katniss and Peeta, played by Woody Harrelson. The 16-year-old Haymitch has just as many rough edges, but his heart is open in ways he later loses in adulthood.

His narrative revolves not only around his participation in the 50th Hunger Games, also known as the Second Quarter Quell, but also his doomed romance with Lenore Dove Baird.

Whitney Peak as Lenore Dove Baird

Whitney Peak, who was born in Uganda before moving to Canada, is best known for her leading role as the politically-minded Zoya on Max's Gossip Girl revival (2021–2023), as well as her supporting turn on Netflix's Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (2019–2020). Other credits include Aaron Sorkin's Molly's Game (2017), the Disney+ film Hocus Pocus 2 (2022), and being a brand ambassador for Chanel.

Peak's Lenore is Haymitch's girlfriend and, per Collins' book, has a voice "as soft and haunting as moonlight."

Mckenna Grace as Maysilee Donner

After a childhood appearing on Disney sitcoms and network soap operas, actress and singer Mckenna Grace turned in memorable performances in genre projects like The Haunting of Hill House (2018), Captain Marvel (2019), and Annabelle Comes Home (2019). Her turn as Esther Keyes on The Handmaid's Tale (2021–2022) earned her a Primetime Emmy nomination.

Related: Captain Marvel 's Mckenna Grace made a career playing the younger versions of big stars

In the years since, she released a pair of EPs and played Phoebe Spangler in Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021) and Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire (2024).

Grace plays Maysilee Donner, Haymitch's fellow District 12 tribute and key figure in the Second Quarter Quell. She also has a connection to the Mockingjay pin that would later become so integral to Katniss' role in the rebellion.

Jesse Plemons as Plutarch Heavensbee

Jesse Plemons broke out as  Friday Night Lights ' lovable Landry Clarke, then made a name for himself in Hollywood working with the likes of Martin Scorsese ( The Irishman,  Killers of the Flower Moon ),  Steven Spielberg  ( The Post ), Jane Campion ( The Power of the Dog ), and  Yorgos Lanthimos  ( Kinds of Kindness ). Though he's yet to win one of the industry's most coveted statues, he's already been nominated for an Academy Award, a Golden Globe, and three Primetime Emmys.

In recent years, he delivered a memorably unnerving turn in Alex Garland's Civil War (2023) and led Netflix's Zero Day (2025) alongside Robert De Niro, Lizzy Kaplan, and his Friday Night Lights costar Connie Britton.

Plemons will play Plutarch Heavensbee , a pivotal figure in the original trilogy as the Head Gamemaker for the 75th Hunger Games (and a leader during the Second Rebellion). Plutarch was portrayed in the films by the late Philip Seymour Hoffman .

The two worked together on Paul Thomas Anderson's The Master (2012), in which Plemons played the son of Hoffman's charismatic cult leader, Lancaster Dodd.

"Jesse is one of the most talented actors of his generation, with a proven record of picking his roles selectively," said Erin Westerman, co-president of Lionsgate Motion Picture Group, in a statement. "We are honored that he has chosen to bring his own take to one of the most fascinating figures in Panem, and feel that his previous collaboration with Philip Seymour Hoffman makes it all the more special. His Plutarch will be both a tribute to the character fans have already come to know and a portrayal he makes his own."

Kelvin Harrison Jr. as Beetee

Kelvin Harrison Jr. built his career playing a number of influential real-life figures, from iconic musicians Chevalier de Saint-Georges ( Chevalier ) and B.B. King ( Elvis ) to the revolutionary Black Panther Fred Hampton ( The Trial of the Chicago 7 ). He also appeared in acclaimed films like Mudbound (2017), It Comes at Night (2017), and Luce (2019). In 2024, he voiced Taka in Barry Jenkins' Mufasa: The Lion King (2024).

Harrison Jr. will play a young Beetee Latier, a former Hunger Games champion and tech whiz portrayed by Jeffrey Wright in Catching Fire and both parts of Mockingjay .

Maya Hawke as Wiress

Maya Hawke , the daughter of acclaimed actors Ethan Hawke and Uma Thurman, played a Manson family cultist in Quentin Tarantino's Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019) before breaking through as Robin Buckley on Stranger Things (2019–present).

Since then, she's appeared in Wes Anderson's Asteroid City (2023), Bradley Cooper's Maestro (2023), and Wildcat (2023), directed by her father . A musician, she's also released a trio of studio albums: Blush (2020), Moss (2022), and Chaos Angel (2024).

Hawke will play a young Wiress , the twitchy, troubled woman portrayed by Amanda Plummer in Catching Fire. A former Hunger Games winner, she serves as a mentor to young Haymitch.

Lili Taylor as Mags

Throughout her career, the prolific Lili Taylor has appeared in a number of beloved indies ( Dogfight , Short Cuts , The Addiction ) and big-budget projects ( The Haunting, The Conjuring ). She's a three-time Emmy nominee for her work on The X-Files (1998), Six Feet Under (2002–2005), and American Crime (2015–2017).

In recent years, she played Mary Todd Lincoln on Apple's Manhunt (2024) and co-starred in Netflix's Fear Street: Prom Queen (2025).

Taylor plays Mags, the elder Hunger Games alum (and participant) played by the late Lynn Cohen in Catching Fire, Along with Wiress, Mags serves as a mentor to Haymitch in Sunrise on the Reaping .

Ralph Fiennes as Coriolanus Snow

Ralph Fiennes has been nominated for an Emmy, seven Golden Globes, and three Academy Awards, including a recent Best Actor nod for his performance in the 2024 hit Conclave .

After playing Voldemort in the Harry Potter films, Fiennes will again demonstrate his villainy as Sunrise on the Reaping 's Coriolanus Snow. The role was previously played by Tom Blyth in The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes and the late Donald Sutherland in the original Hunger Games films.

Though we saw a younger, softer side of Snow in Songbirds , the character has been elevated to Panem's president by the beginning of Sunrise on the Reaping , in which he's in full antagonist mode.

Elle Fanning as Effie Trinket

Elle Fanning was nominated for an Emmy and three Golden Globes for her turn as Catherine the Great on Hulu's  The Great (2020–2023). You may also know her from films like Maleficent  (2014), The Neon Demon  (2016), and  20th Century Women  (2016), as well as her two collaborations with Sofia Coppola , Somewhere (2010) and The Beguiled (2017).

She costarred opposite Timothée Chalamet in last year's A Complete Unknown and will next appear in  Sentimental Value, Predator: Badlands , and the David E. Kelley series Margo's Got Money Troubles.

Fanning is set to star in Sunrise on the Reaping as Effie Trinket, the Hunger Games escort played by Elizabeth Banks in the original films. In Sunrise , the fashionable Effie serves as a stylist for Haymitch leading up to the 50th Hunger Games.

"From the moment Suzanne released the book, one question echoed from fans around the world: Who will play Effie?" posed Lionsgate co-president Erin Westerman in a press release.

"Elizabeth Banks made her iconic — so who could honor that legacy while bringing us back to Effie's early, most formative days? For us, there was only one answer. Elle Fanning's career has been transcendent. She has a rare presence — warm, sparkling, and layered with extraordinary depth. She was the undeniable fan favorite from the start, and we're honored she answered the call. The odds, it turns out, were in our favor."

Kieran Culkin as Caesar Flickerman

Kieran Culkin , a younger brother of child star Macaulay Culkin , won an Academy Award and a Golden Globe for his spiky, anguished performance in last year's A Real Pain . The motor-mouthed actor's magnetic turn as flailing scion Roman Roy on the HBO series Succession (2018–2023) also nabbed the actor an Emmy and a Golden Globe.

Culkin's been acting for most of his life. You may remember him as bed-wetting cousin Fuller in Home Alone (1990), or from his scene-stealing appearances in Father of the Bride trilogy (1991–2020), Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010), and Wiener-Dog (2016).

Culkin will put his fast-talking talents to work as Caesar Flickerman, longtime host of The Hunger Games . The role was carried by a lavender-haired Stanley Tucci in the original films, while Caeser's father, Lucky, was played by Jason Schwartzman in The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.

Glenn Close as Drusilla Sickle

Glenn Close is one of our greatest living actresses, having racked up three Emmys, three Tonys, and three Golden Globes — not to mention eight Academy Award nominations — across her five-decade career.

Her notable films credits include The World According to Garp (1982), The Big Chill (1983), Fatal Attraction (1987), The Wife (2017), and Hillbilly Elegy (2020). Close has also been a force on the small screen, with searing turns on acclaimed series like The Shield (2005) and Damages (2007–2012).

She'll next appear in Rian Johnson's Knives Out: Wake Up Dead Man and the Ryan Murphy series All's Fair , and will lend her voice to Andy Serkis' animated adaptation of George Orwell's Animal Farm .

Close will play Sunrise on the Reaping 's Drusilla Sickle, the surly and cold escort to the District 12 Tributes.

"Glenn Close is a dream Drusilla," said producer Nina Jacobson in a statement. "She brings so much of her intellect and imagination to each role, creating characters who are unforgettable and iconic. I think Glenn and Francis will have a ball bringing Drusilla from the page to the screen."

Billy Porter as Magno Stift

Billy Porter , a Tony and Grammy winner for originating the role of Kinky Boots ' Lola on Broadway, also won an Emmy for his turn on FX's Pose (2018–2021). He turned in memorable performances in films like Cinderella (2021) and series such as American Horror Story: Apocalypse (2018). He served as a guest judge on season 32 of Dancing With the Stars (2023).

Porter will play Magno Stift, the husband of Drusilla, who serves as the District 12 stylist.

"Billy is one of those rare performers who can dazzle and devastate in equal measure on stage and screen," said Jacobson in a statement. "He made an indelible impression on me when we worked together on  Pose , both as an actor and a human being. Casting this show has felt like winning the lottery every time one of our idols said yes to us."

When does Sunrise on the Reaping come out?

Sunrise on the Reaping 's release date is currently marked for Nov. 20, 2026.

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