The cast of The Hunger Games: Sunrise On The Reaping just keeps getting better and better.
Deadline reports that Glenn Close and Billy Porter have officially joined the cast of the new prequel film based on the recently released Hunger Games entry by Suzanne Collins. Close will portray Drusilla Sickle, an escort from the Capitol for the District 12 Tributes, while Porter will portray her husband, Magno Stift, the District 12 stylist.
Sunrise on the Reaping is set 24 years before the events of the first novel, during the fiftieth annual Hunger Games when a young Haymitch Abernathy (played by Woody Harrelson in the original films) is chosen from District 12 to compete in the Quarter Quell.
Both Close and Porter will be part of a star-studded cast that already includes Elle Fanning, Kieran Culkin, Ralph Fiennes, Jesse Plemons, Maya Hawke, and more. Additionally, Joseph Zada from We Were Liars will portray a young Haymitch, with Whitney Peak taking on the role of his girlfriend, Lenore Dove Baird.
Producer Nina Jacobson praised the casting announcement, which was made this weekend at CineEurope.
“Glenn Close is a dream Drusilla,” Jacobson said. “She brings so much of her intellect and imagination to each role, creating characters who are unforgettable and iconic. I think Glenn and Francis will have a ball bringing Drusilla from the page to the screen.”
Jacobson recalled their time working with Porter on the critically acclaimed FX series Pose. “Billy is one of those rare performers who can dazzle and devastate in equal measure on stage and screen,” she said.
“Casting this show has felt like winning the lottery every time one of our idols said yes to us, Jacobson said. “To be able to announce Glenn Close and Billy Porter together is an embarrassment of riches that we can all celebrate.”
Francis Lawrence will return to the franchise to direct the new entry.
The Hunger Games: Sunrise On The Reaping is slated to premiere in theaters Nov. 2026.
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