Ralph Fiennes will take on the role of the sinister politician, a character previously depicted by the late Donald Sutherland.
Lionsgate has confirmed that Ralph Fiennes will play the tyrannical leader of Panem in the upcoming film directed by Francis Lawrence, as reported exclusively by The Hollywood Reporter. The cast already includes Joseph Zada, Whitney Peak, Mckenna Grace, Jesse Plemons, Kelvin Harrison Jr., Maya Hawke, Lili Taylor, and Ben Wang, as previously announced, in this adaptation of Suzanne Collins’ acclaimed novel.
Fiennes steps into the shoes of the late Donald Sutherland, who portrayed Coriolanus Snow in the four initial films of the series, which began with The Hunger Games in theaters in 2012. Blyth played a younger version of the character alongside Rachel Zegler in the 2023 prequel, The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes.
Ralph Fiennes, The Hunger Games:
Sunrise on the Reaping is scheduled to hit theaters on November 20, 2026, directed by Lawrence with a script by Billy Ray based on Collins’ book. Color Force’s Nina Jacobson and Brad Simpson are producing, and Cameron MacConomy is onboard as an executive producer.
Jacobson expresses, “We aimed to honor Donald Sutherland by casting one of today’s finest actors to portray President Snow 24 years before Katniss Everdeen’s entrance into the arena. Collaborating with Ralph has been a dream of mine since he left a lasting impression on me in Schindler’s List. It’s truly exciting to welcome him to the Hunger Games franchise.”
Meredith Wieck and Scott O’Brien are supervising Sunrise on the Reaping for Lionsgate, with Phil Strina negotiating the deal for the studio.
The novel Sunrise on the Reaping brings readers back to Panem on the morning of the reaping for the 50th Hunger Games, which occurs 24 years before the events of the franchise’s original book The Hunger Games, first published in 2008. The first five films of the franchise have grossed over $3.3 billion worldwide, with the first four features led by Jennifer Lawrence’s portrayal of Katniss Everdeen.
Fiennes, a three-time Oscar nominee, earned his most recent Academy Award nomination for his performance in last year’s Conclave. Upcoming projects for him include Nicholas Hytner’s The Choral and Danny Boyle’s 28 Years Later. He is represented by CAA and Sloane Offer in the U.S. and 42MP in the U.K.