After The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, rumor has it that there is another Hunger Games prequel in the works focused on a younger Haymitch Abernathy (Woody Harrelson in the original films). We haven’t got any official updates since the announcement of the book earlier this year, but it looks like they found someone to be the lead of the film.
According to Production Weekly (via @SolaceCinema), Mike Faist (Challengers, West Side Story) has allegedly been picked as the lead for the next Hunger Games movie, Sunrise on the Reaping, where he will play a young Haymitch.
In the lore, Haymitch was the winner of the 50th Hunger Games. With every Quarter Quell expected to have some kind of special event–like the 75th bringing back old winners—the 50th shook things up by bringing in twice the numbers of tributes from each district.
So far there have been details on how Haymitch won his game by teaming up with another tribute, but it’s possible that Sunrise on the Reaping will also focus more on just Haymitch, but the dystopian world in general. We should also expect to get updates on Coriolanus Snow and how he’s been running things since the events of Songbirds and Snakes.
Maybe we can even get an update on Lucy Gray Baird who had just disappeared at the end of her movie.
With the franchise’s YA roots, it would make sense for a star like Faist to be cast in the role of the lead, seeing that he’s starred in films that appeal to younger audiences. It’s not clear how far into production Sunrise on the Reaping is yet, but a lot of audience members seem to think Faist is a solid pick for Haymitch.
No release date has been announced for the Sunrise on the Reaping movie, but the book from Suzanne Collins is expected to come out next year.
