Lionsgate‘s The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping has found its President Snow.
Ralph Fiennes will play the ruthless Panem dictator in director Francis Lawrence‘s forthcoming film in the franchise, The Hollywood Reporter has learned exclusively. Joseph Zada, Whitney Peak, Mckenna Grace, Jesse Plemons, Kelvin Harrison Jr., Maya Hawke, Lili Taylor and Ben Wang have been previously announced as castmembers in the movie that adapts Suzanne Collins‘ best-selling novel.
Fiennes follows in the footsteps of the late Donald Sutherland, who portrayed Coriolanus Snow in the series’ first four films that kicked off with The Hunger Games hitting theaters in 2012. Blyth starred as a younger version of the character opposite Rachel Zegler in 2023’s prequel feature The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes.
The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping lands in theaters Nov. 20, 2026, with Lawrence directing from a script by Billy Ray that adapts Collins’ book. Nina Jacobson and Brad Simpson produce for Color Force, while Cameron MacConomy executive produces.
“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,” Jacobson says. “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.”
Meredith Wieck and Scott O’Brien oversee Sunrise on the Reaping for Lionsgate. Phil Strina handled the deal on behalf of the studio.
The book Sunrise on the Reaping returns readers to Panem on the morning of the reaping for the 50th Hunger Games, which takes place 24 years prior to the events in the franchise’s first book The Hunger Games, initially published in 2008. The franchise’s first five movies have surpassed $3.3 billion at the global box office, with the first four films led by Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen.
Fiennes is a three-time Oscar-nominated actor who landed his latest Academy Award nom with his role in last year’s Conclave. His forthcoming features include Nicholas Hytner’s The Choral and Danny Boyle’s 28 Years Later. Fiennes is represented by CAA and Sloane Offer in the U.S. and 42MP in the U.K.