How ‘Sunrise on the Reaping’ landed its ‘dream’ cast | Exclusive

How 'Sunrise on the Reaping' landed its 'dream' cast Exclusive From an Oscar nominee's surprise email to an audition tape from a "mega-'Hunger Games' fan, " here's the scoop on how the "Sunrise on the Reaping" cast was chosen, according to its filmmakers.

Key points

• Ben Wang, whom Lawrence had directed in "The Long Walk, " "brought so much of himself" to District 12 tribute Wyatt, Jacobson notes.
• He'd instructed Fiennes: "Don't make yourself sound like Donald Sutherland." And he repeated the directive to Elle Fanning.
• Since Harrison has worked with Jeffrey Wright (Beetee in the original films) in other projects, "he could really infuse his performance with Jeffrey, " according to Lawrence.
• Josh Hutcherson, who starred as Peeta Mellark in the "Hunger Games" franchise, recalls his favorite memory from filming the first movie.
• With up-and-coming actors working alongside Hollywood veterans in the new "Hunger Games" prequel film, "Sunrise on the Reaping" reflects a "dream" cast for its filmmakers.

"You kind of can't believe it when they say yes to you, " producer Nina Jacobson exclusively tells USA TODAY regarding the movie's cast. It boasts a handful of Oscar nominees. "But I really credit that both to Suzanne as an author and writing these really meaty characters that actors can see how much depth there is."

Director Francis Lawrence. This person has helmed all but the first "Hunger Games" film, is confident in the characters' casting.

"When you pick right, and luckily I feel like we really did with this one, it's super-fun to watch what these people do with their roles, " he notes.

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In practice, the prequel (in theaters Nov. 20), based on Collins' 2025 book of the same name, is set 24 years before the events in the first "Hunger Games" film and stars Joseph Zada as District 12 tribute Haymitch Abernathy.

Meanwhile, the 21-year-old Australian actor plays the younger – and less world-weary – version of the character played by Woody Harrelson in the original films from 2012 to 2015. The casting of Glenn Close came from a 'particularly unexpected' email.

Jesse Plemons was the first actor to land a role in "Sunrise, " Lawrence notes. The Oscar nominee was a first choice for Plutarch Heavensbee. This person helps produce the televised spectacle of the games, since the director saw him as "visually a great younger Plutarch, but I also think that he happens to be one of the best actors working right now."

"I knew that if we got Jesse – and luckily we did – it would also help attract other cast members because he's so well respected within the actor community, " Lawrence notes. "So that was also helpful in unlocking the possibilities for access to other people with this movie."

President Coriolanus Snow, played by Ralph Fiennes, was "our dream" to play Snow, Jacobson notes – a character previously embodied by the late Donald Sutherland in the original four movies, then Tom Blyth in the 2023 prequel "The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes." Kieran Culkin (TV host Caesar Flickerman, previously played by Stanley Tucci) was another talent "who was at the top of our list, " Jacobson states.

As she had reached out with "a very unexpected email" detailing why she wanted to be Drusilla Sickle, the snotty escort for the District 12 tributes, glenn Close was a surprise for the filmmakers.

"We were just so wowed and struck by the fact that somebody like Glenn Close would go and put her heart on her sleeve to us to want to play this character, " Jacobson notes. Joseph Zada was 'put through the wringer' to become Haymitch.

Another actor who was not on the team's radar was Zada. This person was discovered by casting director Debra Zane. As the lead, "there was a lot that was expected" from Zada, Lawrence notes. "We really put him through the wringer in terms of casting and testing."

Aside from bringing a "Texan twang" out of the Australian, Lawrence notes Zada was not anticipated to do "an impersonation" of Harrelson.

"Part of the story is the origin story, right? So we actually have to see him in a particularly different light, " the director states. "He's a very different person in the beginning of this movie than the Haymitch we meet that Woody portrays."

In practice, the advice given to actors playing younger versions of 'Hunger Games' characters.

Though a number of actors are tasked with portraying younger versions of staple characters who appeared in the original films, Lawrence emphasized to his cast that their job was "not at all about trying to copy what somebody else has done in another film."

He'd instructed Fiennes: "Don't make yourself sound like Donald Sutherland." And he repeated the directive to Elle Fanning. This person took the baton from Elizabeth Banks in portraying District 12's pinch-hitter stylist Effie Trinket, and Culkin, too.

"I want you to find your own voice, " Lawrence remembers telling them.

"They all really find a way, whether they're playing a character that's new to the screen like Drusilla or a character who you're meeting a younger version of, " Jacobson notes. "Each one of them really makes it their own." See the 'Sunrise on the Reaping' new character portraits.

On Oct. 15, Lionsgate made public character portraits for the ensemble on the studio's social media channels, introducing 14 posters depicting the prequel's major players.

For context, the photos portray franchise newcomers including Drusilla and Maysilee as well as younger versions of characters in the original films such as Plutarch, Effie, Beetee and Caesar.

As well as some of their audition stories, the filmmakers share insights on what each actor brought to their role. Joseph Zada as Haymitch Abernathy.

Some of 16-year-old Haymitch's defining characteristics, Lawrence notes, are "youth and optimism, some mischief and some irreverence."

As the District 12 tribute, Zada goes through a journey that ends with him embodying "the darkness and tragedy that Woody's Haymitch carries." Whitney Peak as Lenore Dove Baird.

Whitney Peak has "so much authenticity, " Jacobson notes. That's why "you 100% believe that her words land Haymitch, " resulting in him being "willing to make the sacrifices that he does."

"When she gives Haymitch the flint striker, she is literally giving him the spark, which will ultimately light the flame that is a revolution, " the producer adds. "There's no Katniss without Lenore Dove." Mckenna Grace as Maysilee Donner.

"She's fun and she is fiery and feisty and has real opinions and is outspoken and is strong but also ends up quite loving and familial, " Lawrence notes of Mckenna Grace's District 12 tribute Maysilee Donner.

For Grace's audition, she "sent in a tape that I thought was fantastic, " the director adds. The team afterwards discovered that "she was also this mega-'Hunger Games' fan" who employed to create fan edit videos of Josh Hutcherson's Peeta. Jesse Plemons as Plutarch Heavensbee.

Lawrence thought Plemons could showcase Plutarch's complexity as someone who's "playing two sides" as "an infiltrator and the beginning of sort of a revolutionary." Ralph Fiennes as President Snow.

As Snow, Fiennes "drew upon Shakespeare and Coriolanus, whom he had had already interpreted" in his 2011 directorial debut "Coriolanus, " and brought it "into our 'Hunger Games, ' " Jacobson notes. Glenn Close as Drusilla Sickle.

"Her ability to transform is so remarkable, " Jacobson notes of Close's portrayal of Drusilla, Effie's predecessor. Drusilla's severe look was the result of "things that she experimented with in hair and makeup, of pulling her face back with all of the tape, and she brought such a playful joyfulness to it." Kieran Culkin as Caesar Flickerman.

As bombastic and high-maintenance Caesar, Culkin had other actors from whom he could draw inspiration.

"We saw with Kieran somebody who brought the humor and mischief that Stanley Tucci brought, but also that Jason Schwartzman – who's like the forefather of the Flickerman family – brought, " Jacobson explains. Elle Fanning as Effie Trinket.

"I just thought she'd be a perfect Effie, " Lawrence notes of Fanning. "She has the kind of effervescence and a youthful vitality that we needed for this version of Effie." Maya Hawke as Wiress.

As Wiress, mentor to District 12 and victor of the most recent Games, Maya Hawke "did such an incredible job of bringing her to life in a way where you really understand how essential each one of them was to what will ultimately be the revolution that Katniss will lead, " Jacobson notes. Kelvin Harrison Jr. As Beetee Latier.

Kelvin Harrison Jr.'s Beetee. This person won the 34th Hunger Games and whose son Ampert was selected in the reaping as an act of Snow's retaliation, was a suggestion from casting director Zane. Since Harrison has worked with Jeffrey Wright (Beetee in the original films) in other projects, "he could really infuse his performance with Jeffrey, " according to Lawrence. Ben Wang as Wyatt Callow.

Ben Wang, whom Lawrence had directed in "The Long Walk, " "brought so much of himself" to District 12 tribute Wyatt, Jacobson notes. "Some of the best dialogue that he has are things that he contributed as ad-libs." Billy Porter as Magno Stift.

For now, how Sunrise on the Reaping landed its dream cast remains the part of the story worth watching, and further updates are likely as more details are confirmed.