The Hunger Games prequel Sunrise on the Reaping has gained two additions with Glenn Close (Fatal Attraction) and Billy Porter (Pose) joining Joseph Zada and McKenna Grace in the cast.
The duo will play an estranged Capitol married couple whose job is to present Tributes to the Capitol on the eve of the Hunger Games. Close will star as Drusilla Sickle, the cruel escort to the District 12 Tributes, with Porter as Magno Stift, Drusilla’s estranged husband and the Tributes’ uninspired designer.
“Glenn Close is a dream Drusilla,” said producer Nina Jacobson. “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 continued on Porter’s casting, saying “Billy is one of those rare performers who can dazzle and devastate in equal measure on stage and screen. He made an indelible impression on me when we worked together on Pose, both as an actor and a human being. Casting this show has felt like winning the lottery every time one of our idols said yes to us. To be able to announce Glenn Close and Billy Porter together is an embarrassment of riches that we can all celebrate.”
Released in March by Suzanne Collins, Sunrise on the Reaping takes fans back to the 50th anniversary of the Hunger Games, otherwise known as the Second Quarter Quell, where fan-favourite Haymitch Abernathy was reaped as one of District 12’s four tributes to compete in the game and won, eventually going on to mentor Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark nearly 25 years later in their own Games.
The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping is being directed by Francis Lawrence and stars Joseph Zada (Invisible Boys) as Haymitch Abernathy, Whitney Peak (Hocus Pocus 2) as Lenore Dove Baird, McKenna Grace (Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire) as Maysilee Donner, Jesse Plemons (Civil War) as Plutarch Heavensbee, Kelvin Harrison Jr. (Mufasa: The Lion King) as Beetee, Maya Hawke (Stranger Things) as Wiress, Lili Taylor (Outer Range) as Mags, Ben Wang (Karate Kid: Legends) as Wyatt Callow, Molly McCann (The Vanishing Triangle) as Louella McCoy, Iona Bell (Mandrake) as Lou Lou, Ralph Fiennes (Conclave) as President Snow, Elle Fanning (A Complete Unknown) as Effie Trinket, Kieran Culkin (Succession) as Caesar Flickerman, Glenn Close and Drusilla Sickle and Billy Porter as Magno Stift.
The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping will be released on November 20th, 2026.
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