Latest news with #TheBalladofSongbirdsandSnakes
Express Tribune
26-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Express Tribune
Revisiting a victor
Fans of The Hunger Games, the odds are generously in your favour. After showing us the conniving boy that became the vicious President Snow, the beloved dystopian film franchise is gearing up for another prequel - this one set some years after The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. Announced long before the 2025 release of its source material, The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping will serve as the film adaptation for Suzanne Collins' novel of the same name. As per The Hollywood Reporter, the book was first announced in June last year, which was shortly followed by news on the screen adaptation. Slated for a November 20, 2026 release, the film will be the latest in a franchise that has brought all preceding novels to the big screen. Similar to The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, Sunrise on the Reaping follows the youth of a character that the fans are familiar with, except this one is adored for aiding the protagonists as their Capitol-assigned mentor in the original books and films. Now, Haymitch Abernathy - tribute, friend, and rebel - will tell his own story. District 12 lineup Sunrise on the Reaping follows the 50th year of the annual Hunger Games, also known as the second Quarter Quell. In the Capitol's celebration of another 15-year lap, the Games introduce a fresh twist by doubling up on the usual 12 tributes that fight to the death each year. This time around, two girls and two boys are reaped from each district, adding up to a total of 42 teenagers forced to endure the Capitol's cruel punishment. Unbeknownst to young Haymitch, his dictated participation is only the first step towards a long life of misfortune. Leading a promising cast that appeases fans with every update, Joseph Zada will bring Haymitch to life on the big screen, along with Whitney Peak who will portray Haymitch's girlfriend, Lenore Dove Baird. Zada takes the torch from Woody Harrelson, who played the fan-favourite District 12 victor in the original quartet of films. Aside from Zada and Peak, others actors representing District 12 include Ben Wang who plays Wyatt Callow, the second male tribute reaped from District 12, along with Mckenna Grace and Molly McCann who play the female tributes Maysilee Donner and Louella McCoy respectively. Additionally, Iona Bell will portray Lou Lou, the Capitol's chilling replacement for Louella. Familiar names The official Instagram account for The Hunger Games is announcing all cast members steadily. With a post dedicated to a character each, the videos show text from the novel disappearing until only the character's name remains. The page then burns to reveal the actor behind the respective character, prompting a flood of reactions to each cast member in the comments. Portraying the tributes' band of allies are Kelvin Harrison Jr, Maya Hawke, and Lili Taylor, who play Beetee Latier, Wiress, and Mags Flanagan. Having previously appeared in The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, the characters were formerly played by Jeffrey Wright, Amanda Plummer, and Lynn Cohen respectively. Other familiar characters to be reintroduced in Sunrise on the Reaping are double agent Plutarch Heavensbee, President Coriolanus Snow, future Capitol escort Effie Trinket, and interviewer Caesar Flickerman. Formerly portrayed by Elizabeth Banks in the films centered around Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark, a younger version of the elaborately dressed Effie will be played by Maleficent star Elle Fanning. Meanwhile, Black Mirror star Jesse Plemons is set to play Plutarch, the Capitol insider who aids the district rebels in the future story. The role was originally portrayed by Philip Seymour Hoffman. President Snow, who holds the record for appearing in every Hunger Games novel and film, will be brought to life this time by Conclave star Ralph Fiennes. The evil dictator was last seen as the protagonist of his own story in The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes and was played by Tom Blyth, though the late Donald Sutherland famously portrayed him in his prime in the first four films. The latest addition to the cast is Succession star Kieran Culkin, who will borrow the role of Caesar - the Capitol host who sits down with every tribute before the Games - from Stanley Tucci. "Kieran's scene-stealing presence and undeniable charm are perfect for Caesar Flickerman, the sickeningly watchable host of Panem's darkest spectacle. Stanley Tucci made Caesar unforgettable - and now Kieran will make the role entirely his own," said Lionsgate Motion Picture Group co-president Erin Westerman. No surprises? As per Variety, the novel Sunrise on the Reaping sold a staggering 1.5 million copies in its first week on sale in the US, UK, Ireland, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, producing twice the first-week sales of The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes and three times that of Mockingjay. "After traveling with Coriolanus, who is endlessly manipulative and controlling, it was a relief to wear both Haymitch's voice and character. He has a much greater capacity for hope, love, and joy. More than Coriolanus - or Katniss, for that matter," Collins said. Speaking of revisiting a character whose future the readers are already familiar with, the author added, "It's another way to approach a story, but it has its advantages. If you look at Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, we learn in the prologue that the lovers will die. So you're really not focused on what's going to happen, but on how or why it happens."
The South African
25-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The South African
Ralph Fiennes to play President Snow in 'Sunrise on the Reaping'
Award-winning actor Ralph Fiennes is set to bring his chilling talents to the world of Panem. Fiennes will play President Coriolanus Snow in The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping . The film, adapted from Suzanne Collins's latest novel, promises a thrilling dive into the history of the Hunger Games. Fiennes steps into the shoes of the late Donald Sutherland, who masterfully portrayed the tyrannical leader in the original Hunger Games series. Tom Blyth previously played a younger Snow in The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes , according to Breaking News. Fiennes, at 62, is perfectly aged to depict Snow during the 50th Hunger Games, also known as the Second Quarter Quell. 'We wanted to honour Donald Sutherland by having one of this generation's greatest actors play President Snow. This is 24 years before Katniss Everdeen entered the arena,' said producer Nina Jacobson. She also added, 'Working with Ralph has been on my bucket list since he traumatised me for life in Schindler's List . It's genuinely a thrill to welcome him to the Hunger Games.' Sunrise on the Reaping centres on Haymitch Abernathy, the District 12 mentor, later known for his alcoholism and cynicism. Haymitch, played by Joseph Zada, finds himself a tribute in the brutal 50th Hunger Games. These games are particularly vicious, featuring double the tributes from each district. Fiennes joins a cast that includes Joseph Zada as Haymitch Abernathy, Whitney Peak as Lenore Dove Baird, and other talented actors like Maya Hawke and Jesse Plemons. Francis Lawrence, who directed Catching Fire and both Mockingjay films, returns to direct. The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping will hit cinemas on 20 November 2026. Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1. Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news.
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Kieran Culkin cast as Caesar Flickerman in 'The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping.' See who else will appear in the prequel.
Hunger Games fans are staying fed. This week the dystopian film franchise began to announce the cast of the highly anticipated Sunrise on the Reaping, adapted from author Suzanne Collins's just-released novel of the same name. Though the film is set more than two decades before the original Hunger Games trilogy kicks off with Jennifer Lawrence's heroine Katniss, a beloved character is back. Sunrise tells the story of a teenage Haymitch Abernathy, portrayed in the original franchise by Woody Harrelson, as he fights to survive his own Hunger Games — all while refusing to bend the knee to the ruthless Capitol, which this time around placed him and 47 other children in the deadly arena. The movie comes after the 2023 adaptation of The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, which starred Tom Blyth as a young will-be President Snow and Rachel Zegler as Lucy Gray Baird, a singer forced to compete in the Hunger Games. The Sunrise on the Reaping novel only hit bookshelves on March 18 — but fans have been itching to see who will star in the film. With the movie already slated to hit theaters on Nov. 20, 2026, here's who we know thus far will appear. Fresh off winning his first Academy Award earlier this year, for his role in A Real Pain, Kieran Culkin will soon take on the role of Caesar Flickerman — the host of the Hunger Games, originally portrayed by Stanley Tucci — in Sunrise on the Reaping. Culkin, brother of Home Alone star Macaulay Culkin and actor Rory Culkin, is known for films like The Cider House Rules, Igby Goes Down and Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. He portrayed Roman Roy on HBO's hit series Succession from 2018 to 2023, for which he won an Emmy. In Sunrise on the Reaping, Harrelson's gruff, ornery character is 16 and trying to survive a grueling life in Panem's District 12 when a series of shocking circumstances leads him to be called to the Hunger Games arena. (And on his birthday, no less!) But Haymitch won't go down without a fight, and while we may think we know how Haymitch's story ends, there's a lot to Sunrise on the Reaping that quietly sets up Katniss and company's future ability to take down corrupt President Snow once and for all. If you haven't heard Joseph Zada's name before, you will soon. The 20-year-old Australian actor is set to star in two much anticipated TV adaptations: Netflix's East of Eden, opposite Florence Pugh, and E. Lockhart's We Were Liars, dropping on Prime Video this summer. He also appeared in the Australian series Invisible Boys, which was released earlier this year. Lenore Dove is a member of the Covey, a group of traveling musicians and storytellers — just like Lucy Gray Baird was in The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. She's also Haymitch's longtime love. Whitney Peak is best known for her starring role in the Max Gossip Girl revival, as well as The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina and Hocus Pocus 2. She also appeared in Sabrina Carpenter's music video of 'Nonsense.' Maysilee Donner is a shopkeeper's daughter who becomes one of District 12's tributes in the supersize version of The Hunger Games alongside Haymitch. In the book it's also revealed that she is the original owner of Katniss's Mockingjay pin — something that is cut from the Hunger Games film franchise. She becomes one of Haymitch's trusted allies in the arena, despite the two getting off on the wrong foot. McKenna Grace is a singer and actress who played a young Tonya Harding in I, Tonya. She appeared in TV roles including The Haunting of Hill House and Designated Survivor before starring in the rebooted Ghostbusters: Afterlife franchise and The Handmaid's Tale, where she was nominated for an Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series Emmy in 2021. She's also slated to star in the upcoming Colleen Hoover adaptation Regretting You. Fans of the original Hunger Games trilogy will recognize Plutarch Heavensbee as the Head Gamemaker for the 75th annual Hunger Games, when Katniss and Josh Hutcherson's Peeta compete for a second time. In Sunrise on the Reaping, Plutarch is a wealthy Capitol-born cameraman working his way up the ladder of the Hunger Games while also secretly conspiring against Snow. Plemons's breakout role came in the television series Friday Night Lights, where he portrayed Landry. Since then the prolific actor has appeared on shows like Breaking Bad, Fargo and Black Mirror. One of Plemons's first major film roles was in 2012's The Master, where he acted alongside Philip Seymour Hoffman, the actor who played an older version of Plutarch in the original film franchise. Since then he has appeared in movies like The Post, The Irishman, The Power of the Dog, Game Night and Killers of the Flower Moon. This year, Plemons returned to Black Mirror for the sequel to the 2017 episode "U.S.S. Callister." Kelvin Harrison Jr. is taking on the role of the brainy Beetee, a survivor of the Hunger Games who first appeared in Catching Fire and was originally portrayed onscreen by Jeffrey Wright. Harrison previously starred as the titular character in the 2019 drama Luce, opposite Naomi Watts and Octavia Spencer and has since appeared in films such as The Trial of the Chicago 7, Cyrano, Elvis and Chevalier, where he starred as French Caribbean musician Joseph Bologne. The actor is no stranger to prequels: He recently voiced Taka, aka young Scar, in Mufasa. Lili Taylor is playing Mags Flanagan, another victor of the Hunger Games tasked with helping Haymitch. The actress is known for films like Mystic Pizza, Short Cuts, The Addiction, Girls Town and I Shot Andy Warhol, for which she received critical acclaim for her role as radical feminist Valerie Solanas. She is slated to appear in Netflix's upcoming Fear Street: Prom Queen. Maya Hawke is set to portray Wiress, an eccentric, tech-skilled Hunger Games victor originally portrayed by Amanda Plummer in Catching Fire. The actress, who is the daughter of Ethan Hawke and Uma Thurman, stars on Netflix's Stranger Things and has appeared in films like Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood, Asteroid City and Do Revenge. She is making her off-Broadway debut this month in the play Eurydice. Ben Wang is slated to portray Wyatt, the other male tribute from District 12 who joins Haymitch in the Hunger Games arena. Wang previously starred on the Disney+ series American Born Chinese and can next be seen Karate Kid: Legends, which is out May 30. He also has a role in The Long Walk, a Stephen King adaptation, which is headed to theaters on Sept. 12. Ralph Fiennes will be the third actor to portray President Coriolanus Snow, following in the footsteps of the late Donald Sutherland in the initial Hunger Games trilogy and Tom Blyth in the prequel The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. A prolific stage and screen star who has appeared in films like Schindler's List, The English Patient and The Grand Budapest Hotel, Fiennes is no stranger to playing the villain in a popular book-to-screen franchise: He portrayed evil wizard Voldemort in the Harry Potter franchise. Elle Fanning was a fan favorite to play young Capitol stylist Effie Trinket, a role originated by Elizabeth Banks in the original Hunger Games trilogy. Fanning, a onetime child star, made her film debut in I Am Sam, where she portrayed a younger version of her sister Dakota Fanning's character. Since then, the prolific actress has starred in films like Super 8, Maleficent, The Beguiled, A Rainy Day in New York and All the Bright Places. On the TV side, she starred in the historical comedy The Great, as well as the true crime adaptation The Girl from Plainville. English actress Iona Bell joins the cast as Lou Lou, who gets wrapped up in the Hunger Games because of a Capitol scheme that would definitely be a spoiler to reveal. She has previously appeared in the short film Pulp by Rind and has several films in various stages of production, according to her IMDb. Irish actress Molly McCann, who plays District 12 resident Louella, previously appeared in the television series Bad Sisters, as well as The Hardacres, The Holiday and The Vanishing Triangle. This article was originally published on April 25, 2025, and has since been updated.
Pink Villa
20-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Pink Villa
Elle Fanning Joins Cast of The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping: Here's Everything We Know So Far
The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping's updates are getting more exciting. Elle Fanning is set to make her way to Panem as Effie Trinket, who is the stylist to District 12 Tribute Haymitch Abernathy in the lead-up to the 50th Hunger Games. It was previously announced by Lionsgate that the film will star Joseph Zada as Haymitch Abernathy and Whitney Peak as Lenore Dove Baird. Furthermore, Mckenna Grace as Maysilee Donner, Jesse Plemons as Plutarch Heavensbee, Maya Hawke as Wiress, Kelvin Harrison Jr. as Beetee, Lili Taylor as Mags, Ben Wang as Wyatt, and Ralph Fiennes as President Snow. Meanwhile, Molly McCann will play the role of Louella, and Iona Bell will portray her Capitol-assigned lookalike, Lou Lou. The film, adapted from Suzanne Collins' The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, is set 24 years before the events of the first novel, The Hunger Games. The movie's plot will revolve around themes of political manipulation, the power of propaganda, and the complexities of societal control under a totalitarian regime, and centers on the 50th Hunger Games. All About Haymitch Abernathy! Haymitch Abernathy's character will be played by Joseph Zada, who has proven his acting prowess in We Were Liars and Total Control. Abernathy is an outspoken and short-tempered 16‐year‐old living in District 12 with his impoverished mother and younger brother, Sid. During the reaping for the 50th Annual Hunger Games, where all districts must produce two boys and two girls as tributes for the Second Quarter Quell, a tribute tries to escape. In a cover-up maneuver, Capitol officials appoint Haymitch as a substitute, re‐staging the reaping. His fellow District 12 tributes include Wyatt Callow, Louella McCoy, and Maysilee Donner. During the Tribute Parade, Louella is killed by a horse‐drawn chariot. To rebel against President Snow, Haymitch dumps her body outside his mansion. After the Tribute Parade, President Snow warns Haymitch and tells him that he will ensure the Gamemakers punish him with a painful death if he continues his defiance. Louella is then replaced by a body double, who goes on to participate in the games. The film will be released by Lionsgate on November 20, 2026.
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Elle Fanning cast as Effie in 'The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping.' See who else will appear in the prequel.
Hunger Games fans are staying fed. This week, the dystopian film franchise began to announce the cast of the highly anticipated Sunrise on the Reaping, adapted from author Suzanne Collins's just-released novel of the same name. Though the film is set more than two decades before the original Hunger Games trilogy kicks off with Jennifer Lawrence's heroine Katniss, a beloved character is back. Sunrise tells the story of a teenage Haymitch Abernathy, portrayed in the original franchise by Woody Harrelson, as he fights to survive his own Hunger Games — all while refusing to bend the knee to the ruthless Capitol, which this time around placed him and 47 other children in the deadly arena. The movie comes after the 2023 adaptation of The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, which starred Tom Blyth as a young will-be President Snow and Rachel Zegler as Lucy Gray Baird, a singer forced to compete in the Hunger Games. The Sunrise on the Reaping novel only hit bookshelves on March 18 — but fans have been itching to see who will star in the film. With the movie already slated to hit theaters on Nov. 20, 2026, here's who we know will appear thus far. Elle Fanning was a fan favorite to play young Capitol stylist Effie Trinket, a role originated by Elizabeth Banks in the original Hunger Games trilogy. Fanning, a former child star, made her film debut in I Am Sam, where she portrayed a younger version of her sister Dakota Fanning's character. Since then, the prolific actress has starred in films like Super 8, Maleficent, The Beguiled, A Rainy Day in New York and All the Bright Places. On the TV side, she starred in the historical comedy The Great, as well as the true crime adaptation The Girl from Plainville. In Sunrise on the Reaping, Harrelson's gruff, ornery character is 16 and trying to survive a grueling life in Panem's District 12 when a series of shocking circumstances leads him to be called to the Hunger Games arena. (And on his birthday, no less!) But Haymitch won't go down without a fight, and while we may think we know how Haymitch's story ends, there's a lot to Sunrise on the Reaping that quietly sets up Katniss and co.'s future ability to take down corrupt President Snow once and for all. If you haven't heard Joseph Zada's name before, you will soon. The 20-year-old Australian actor is set to star in two highly anticipated TV adaptations: Netflix's East of Eden, opposite Florence Pugh, and E. Lockhart's We Were Liars, dropping on Prime Video this summer. He also appeared in the Australian series Invisible Boys, which dropped earlier this year. Lenore Dove is a member of the Covey, a group of traveling musicians and storytellers — just like Lucy Gray Baird was in The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. She's also Haymitch's longtime love. Whitney Peak is best known for her starring role in the Max Gossip Girl revival, as well as The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina and Hocus Pocus 2. She also appeared in Sabrina Carpenter's music video of 'Nonsense.' Maysilee Donner is a shopkeeper's daughter who becomes one of District 12's tributes in the super-size version of The Hunger Games alongside Haymitch. In the book, it's also revealed that she is the original owner of Katniss's Mockingjay pin — something that is cut from the Hunger Games film franchise. She becomes one of Haymitch's trusted allies in the arena, despite the two getting off on the wrong foot. McKenna Grace is a singer and actress who played a young Tonya Harding in I, Tonya. She appeared in TV roles including The Haunting of Hill House and Designated Survivor before starring in the rebooted Ghostbusters: Afterlife franchise and The Handmaid's Tale, where she was nominated for an Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series Emmy in 2021. She's also slated to star in the upcoming Colleen Hoover adaptation Regretting You. Fans of the original Hunger Games trilogy will recognize Plutarch Heavensbee as the Head Gamemaker for the 75th annual Hunger Games, when Katniss and Josh Hutcherson's Peeta compete for a second time. In Sunrise on the Reaping, Plutarch is a wealthy Capitol-born cameraman working his way up the ladder of the Hunger Games, while also secretly conspiring against Snow. Plemons's breakout role came in the TV series Friday Night Lights, where he portrayed Landry. Since then, the prolific actor has appeared on shows like Breaking Bad, Fargo and Black Mirror. One of Plemons's first major film roles was in 2012's The Master, where he acted alongside Philip Seymour Hoffman, the late actor who played an older version of Plutarch in the original film franchise. Since then, he's appeared in movies like The Post, The Irishman, The Power of the Dog, Game Night and Killers of the Flower Moon. This year, Plemons returned to Black Mirror for the sequel to the 2017 episode "U.S.S. Callister." Kelvin Harrison Jr. is taking on the role of the brainy Beetee, a survivor of the Hunger Games who first appeared in Catching Fire and was originally portrayed onscreen by Jeffrey Wright. Harrison previously starred as the titular character in the 2019 drama Luce, opposite Naomi Watts and Octavia Spencer, and has since appeared in films such as The Trial of the Chicago 7, Cyrano, Elvis and Chevalier, where he starred as French Caribbean musician Joseph Bologne. The actor is no stranger to prequels: He recently voiced Taka, aka young Scar, in Mufasa. Lili Taylor is playing Mags Flanagan, another victor of the Hunger Games tasked with helping Haymitch. The actress is known for films like Mystic Pizza, Short Cuts, The Addiction, Girls Town and I Shot Andy Warhol, where she received critical acclaim for her role as radical feminist Valerie Solanas. She is slated to appear in Netflix's upcoming Fear Street: Prom Queen. Maya Hawke is set to portray Wiress, an eccentric, tech-skilled Hunger Games victor originally portrayed by Amanda Plummer in Catching Fire. The actress, who is the daughter of actors Ethan Hawke and Uma Thurman, stars on Netflix's Stranger Things and has appeared in films like Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood, Asteroid City and Do Revenge. She is making her off-Broadway debut this month in the play Eurydice. Ben Wang is slated to portray Wyatt, the other male tribute from District 12 who joins Haymitch in the Hunger Games arena. Wang previously starred on the Disney+ series American Born Chinese and can next be seen Karate Kid: Legends, which is out May 30. He also has a role in The Long Walk, a Stephen King adaptation, which is headed to theaters on Sept. 12, 2025. Ralph Fiennes will be the third actor to portray President Coriolanus Snow, following in the footsteps of the late Donald Sutherland in the initial Hunger Games trilogy and Tom Blyth in the prequel The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. A prolific stage and screen star who has appeared in films like Schindler's List, The English Patient and The Grand Budapest Hotel, Fiennes is no stranger to playing the villain in a popular book-to-screen franchise: he portrayed evil wizard Voldemort in the Harry Potter franchise. English actress Iona Bell joins the cast as Lou Lou, who gets wrapped up in the Hunger Games due to a Capitol scheme that would definitely be a spoiler to reveal. She has previously appeared in the short film Pulp by Rind and has several films in various stages of production, per her IMDb. Irish actress Molly McCann, who plays District 12 resident Louella, previously appeared in the TV series Bad Sisters, as well as The Hardacres, The Holiday and The Vanishing Triangle. This article was originally published on April 25, 2025, and has since been updated.
