8 hours Ago By Max Pilley
The film, set for release in November 2026, is set 24 years before the events of the original movie Jesse Plemons has been cast as the young Plutarch Heavensbee in the upcoming Hunger Games prequel Sunrise On The Reaping . READ MORE: ‘The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes’ review: sings a pleasingly familiar tune The actor, who rose to fame as Todd Alquist in Breaking Bad and went on to star in Fargo , Game Night , The Irishman and The Power Of The Dog , will play the role filled by Philip Seymour Hoffman in the original film series. Sunrise On The Reaping is the latest feature film from the Suzanne Collins universe and will be set 24 years before the events of the 2012 movie.
It will chart the rise of the younger Plutarch as he works as a cameraman during a round of the titular games in District 12, planting the seed for his future rebellion against the Capitol. Intriguingly, Plemons, whose acting style has often been compared to the late Hoffman’s, also played the son of his Lancaster Dodd in Paul Thomas Anderson ’s Scientology-inspired 2012 film The Master . Plutarch Heavensbee.
The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping – in theaters November 20, 2026. pic.twitter.
com/2e4EprWE6f — The Hunger Games (@TheHungerGames) April 25, 2025 The new film will be directed by Francis Lawrence, who has overseen every instalment of the franchise since 2013’s Catching Fire . Billy Ray, who co-wrote the 2012 original, returns as screenwriter and filming is due to start in July. It has a projected release date of November 20, 2026.
Other casting for the film includes Joseph Zada as Haymitch Abernathy, the character played by Woody Harrelson in the previous films, and Whitney Peak as his girlfriend Lenore Dove Baird. McKenna Grace will play the Katniss Everdeen-like tribute Maysilee Donner. Sunrise On The Reaping is also set 40 years after the events of 2023’s The Ballad Of Songbirds And Snakes .
In a four-star review of that film , NME wrote: “But what makes this fifth film the best of the franchise is its tense, paranoid latter half. Snow finds himself exiled to District 12 as a peacekeeper and his sympathies for the rebels seem to sway back and forth. Though we know what he eventually becomes, it’s a treat to watch him working out which master he should serve as he spies, lies and betrays.
It’s rare to see moral ambivalence depicted in such non-judgemental fashion, especially in a blockbuster movie.” Related Topics The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.
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