Oscar nominee Ralph Fiennes has officially been cast as President Coriolanus Snow in Lionsgate’s upcoming cinematic prequel in their Hunger Games franchise. In The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping Fiennes will portray another YA lit villain by stepping into the shoes of Panem’s infamous dictator.
The adaptation of Suzanne Collins’ bestselling book includes a stacked ensemble cast that stars Joseph Zada as Haymitch Abernathy, Whitney Peak, Mckenna Grace, Jesse Plemons, Kelvin Harrison Jr., Maya Hawke, Lili Taylor, and Ben Wang. Fiennes takes over the role from both the late great Donald Sutherland
, who portrayed Snow in the original Hunger Games adaptations, and Tom Blyth, who portrayed the younger Snow in the first prequel movie, Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. “We wanted to honor Donald Sutherland by having one of this generation’s greatest actors play President Snow 24 years before Katniss Everdeen entered the arena,” producer Nina Jacobson said in a press release. “Working with Ralph has been on my bucket list since he traumatized me for life in Schindler’s List. It’s genuinely a thrill to welcome him to the Hunger Games.”
The prequel novel by Suzanne Collins was just published on March 18, and takes readers back to Panem two decades before the original trilogy which became hit films starring Jennifer Lawrence with Woody Harrelson co-starring as her mentor Haymitch Abernathy. The prequel film will delve into Haymitch’s backstory, now portrayed by Zada, and his participation in Fiftieth Hunger Games, known as the second Quarter Quell.
The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping directed by seasoned franchise helmer Francis Lawrence and is slated for release on November 20, 2026.
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