Kieran Culkin lands major role in ‘The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping’
Oscar-winning actor Kieran Culkin has landed the role of Caesar Flickerman in the upcoming blockbuster The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping.
The upcoming feature, scheduled for release in 2026, is based on Suzanne Collins’ Hunger Games book of the same name, set 40 years after the prequel The Ballads of Songbirds & Snakes, but 24 years before the initial Hunger Games series.
The movie will give big breaks to Joseph Zada and Whitney Peak, who play the lead roles in the forthcoming movie as Haynith Abernathy and his girlfriend, Lenore Dove Baird.
Meanwhile, Jesse Plemons has secured the role of a young Plutarch Heavensbee, played by Philip Seymour Hoffman in the initial film series. Maya Hawke will play Wiress, a former Hunger Games champion turned District 12 mentor, McKenna Grace will portray Maysilee Donner, and Kelvin Harrison Jr has been cast as Beetee.
Other notable names that are set to be part of the ensemble include Lili Taylor, Ben Wang, Ralph Fiennes and Elle Fanning.
The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping is currently scheduled for release on November 20th, 2026, and Francis Lawrence will return to the director’s chair. It’s expected to enter production in July.
Earlier this year, Lionsgate Motion Picture Group co-president Erin Westerman previously proudly said of the casting of relative unknowns Zada and Peak: “The Hunger Games franchise has long been a launching pad for remarkable young actors, and Jo and Whitney carry that legacy forward with incredible heart, depth, and fire.”
Outside of The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping, Culkin has kept himself occupied this year by returning to the theatre. He is currently starring in Glengarry Glen Ross on Broadway alongside Bill Burr and Bob Odenkirk.
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