‘Lion King’ Star Kelvin Harrison Jr. Joins Glenn Close In Hunger Games Sequel

by Annika May 16, 2025

Kelvin Harrison Jr., who voiced Scar in Disney’s The Lion King, has joined the cast of Lionsgate’s latest Hunger Games franchise installment, ‘Sunrise of the Reaping’. He will play Beetee, the champion of the 34th Hunger Games. Academy award-winning actress, Glenn Close is also rumored to be considering a role in the film.

‘Lion King’ Star Kelvin Harrison Jr. Joins Glenn Close In Hunger Games Sequel

– Kelvin Harrison Jr., who has previously featured in Disney’s The Lion King, has been cast in the latest Hunger Games franchise film, Sunrise of the Reaping, playing the character Beetee, a champion of the 34th Hunger Games.
– Other actors such as Joseph Zada, Whitney Peak, Mckenna Grace, and Jesse Plemons are part of the “Reaping” cast; Glenn Close is potentially joining as well, though her involvement is yet to be confirmed.
– The Hunger Games prequel, Reaping, revisits the world of Panem two and a half decades prior to the original trilogy and is expected to perform well given the significant success of the originating book’s sales.

Kelvin Harrison, Jr., who is known for lending his voice to the character of Taka, also known as Scar, in Disney’s Mufasa: The Lion King, is the latest addition to the cast of Lionsgate’s new Hunger Games film’s installment. This particular installment is adapted from the current Suzanne Collins bestseller, Sunrise of the Reaping.

There are also unconfirmed reports that Glenn Close is potentially looking at a part in the film. However, it is yet to be seen if this will become a reality.

Sunrise of the Reaping stars Joseph Zada stepping into the role of Haymitch Abernathy, alongside Whitney Peak, who is set to portray Haymitch’s significant other, Lenore Dove Baird. The plot serves as a prequel, focusing on crowd favourite Haymitch, a pivotal character who served as a guide to Katniss Everdeen in the original Hunger Games book trilogy and its cinematic adaptations. Woody Harrelson was the actor behind Haymitch in those films.

Mckenna Grace, Jesse Plemons are also slated to make appearances in the production. Francis Lawrence is directing the film.

Harrison will portray Beetee, who won the 34th Hunger Games. Jeffrey Wright brought this character to life in the original series. Sunrise of the Reaping takes the audience back to the universe of Panem, unfolding a narrative set twenty-four years prior to the events of the first book and film.

Billy Ray is responsible for the screenplay. Nina Jacobson and Brad Simpson from Color Force are in charge of production, with Cameron MacConomy serving as executive producer.

Since the publication of the book Sunrise of the Reaping on March 18, it has achieved significant commercial success, selling 1.5 million copies in the first week in the U.S., U.K., Ireland, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. The 1.2 million copies sold in the U.S. doubled the first week sales of the previous Hunger Games novel, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. It also tripled the first week sales figures of Mockingjay, which was the concluding book of the original trilogy. Lionsgate has expressed great anticipation for the film adaptation due to this success.

Among Harrison’s other notable roles include portraying Fred Hampton in The Trial of the Chicago 7 by Aaron Sorkin, embodying B.B. King in Baz Luhrman’s Elvis, and playing Martin Luther King in the Nat Geo’s miniseries Genius: MLK/X. Upcoming projects for him include starring as Jean-Michel Basquiat in Samo Lives, which he will also executive produce.