Ralph Fiennes has been cast as President Snow in "Hunger Games: Sunrise on Reaping," succeeding Donald Sutherland, from the original series.
Yes! Ralph Fiennes is stepping into the chilling role of President Coriolanus Snow in Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping. This prequel takes place 24 years before Katniss Everdeen enters the arena and focuses on the 50th Hunger Games, also known as the Second Quarter Quell.
Fiennes follows in the footsteps of Donald Sutherland, who played Snow in the original films, and Tom Blyth, who portrayed a younger version of the character in The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. Given Fiennes' history of playing iconic villains—like Lord Voldemort in Harry Potter, fans are excited to see how he brings his signature intensity to the ruthless dictator of Panem.
“We wanted to honor Donald Sutherland by having one of this generation’s greatest actors play President Snow," producer Nina Jacobson said in a press release confirming Fiennes’ casting, "24 years before Katniss Everdeen entered the arena."
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The film is set to release on November 20, 2026, with Francis Lawrence returning as director. What do you think—will Fiennes' Snow be even more terrifying than Sutherland's?
The plot will revolve on the story of 16-year-old Haymitch played by Woody Harrelson in the first five chapters and slated to be played by Joseph Zada in the current installation, a Hunger Games victor who coached characters Katniss and Peeta through their own games in the original book and film. In Sunrise on the Reaping, Haymitch will go through his own surprising path of being selected as tribute.
Whitney Peak, Jesse Plemons, McKenna Grace, Maya Hawke, Kelvin Harrison Jr., and Lili Taylor are among the other actors who were chosen to join the cast.
The Academy Award winner, who played a Nazi commander in Schindler's List more than 30 years ago and the iconic character of Lord Voldemort in the last four Harry Potter films, is no stranger to playing spooky roles as he assumes the role of the brutal dictator of Panem.
"I've been asked to play a lot of villains and psychopaths," Fiennes said in a clip from CBS News Sunday Morning in October 2024. "I like characters that have contradictions inside of them."