Hunger Games fans were surprised earlier this year with the news that not only is there a new prequel novel coming in 2025, but that a film adaptation will quickly follow in 2026. Titled Sunrise on the Reaping, the latest chapter in author Suzanne Collins’ epic tale is set to explore the 50th Hunger Games, and focuses heavily on the character of Haymitch Abernathy, who was portrayed by Woody Harrelson in the original films. Now, Sunrise on the Reaping director Francis Lawrence is discussing some of the biggest challenges he’s facing when it comes to casting the right person for the job.
Speaking with ComicBook.com, Lawrence compared the experience of casting a young Abernathy to a similar challenge he faced when casting a younger version of the late Donald Sutherland’s Coriolanus Snow for Songbirds and Snakes – a role that ultimately went to Tom Blyth. He said the challenge is not only finding someone who can embody the characteristics of Harrelson, but someone the audience will believe can actually grow up to become the character we saw in The Hunger Games.
“If you look at The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, we had to cast a young version of Donald Sutherland, right? It’s the same challenge. It’s different characteristics of Donald and Woody, very different people. But you’re like, ‘How am I going to cast a young person who is believably going to become Donald Sutherland? Who’s going to have that sort of intelligence, sophistication, a little irreverence, gravitas, all of that. Who is going to embody and be believable in the fact that he’s going to turn into that guy and become the president of Panem?’ And it’s the same thing [with Haymitch].”
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Things worked out well for Songbirds and Snakes, as Blyth did a respectable job of portraying a young Sutherland, while at the same time putting his own spin on the character. Seeing how we all know that Abernathy grows up to become the alcoholic mentor to Katniss and Peeta, it will be interesting to see who Lawrence manages to find for the role, as at the time Sunrise on the Reaping takes place, he’s still a love-struck boy that has yet to become too jaded by the world – that is until he participates in the 50th Hunger Games.
Francis Lawrence Doesn’t Want Someone Who Will Do “An Impersonation” of Woody Harrelson
Expanding a bit more on his answer, Lawrence dove into the fact that when it came to Blyth’s portrayal of the man who would become President Snow, he did so much more than just an “impersonation” of Sutherland. Instead, the young actor took bits and pieces from what made Sutherland’s performance so great, and from there he brought his own talents to the role to play mentor to District 12’s Lucy Gray Baird (Rachel Zegler).
“It’s not somebody that just looks like him, or is going to study Woody Harrelson and just act like him. When Tom Blythe played Donald Sutherland, he wasn’t doing an impersonation. We had to find somebody that was believable that you could be like, ‘Oh, okay, I see how this guy over 70 years could turn into Donald.'”
Clearly, whomever Lawrence casts is going to have some pretty big shoes to fill, as Harrelson’s performance is remembered to this day by Hunger Games fans, who have a deep love for the character of Abernathy. As we await the official word of who will play the lead in Sunrise on the Reaping, be sure to check out the original films streaming now on AMC+.
The Hunger Games
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*Availability in US
- Release Date
- March 12, 2012
- Runtime
- 142 minutes