Ralph Fiennes to Star as President Snow in ‘The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping’

by Annika May 19, 2025

Ralph Fiennes has been cast as the formidable dictator President Snow in Lionsgate’s forthcoming film “The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping”. This addition to the Hunger Games franchise is helmed by Oscar-nominated actor Ralph Fiennes and directed by Francis Lawrence. The film is an adaptation of Suzanne Collins’ best-selling novel. The cast also includes Joseph Zada, Whitney Peak, Mckenna Grace, Jesse Plemons, Kelvin Harrison Jr., Maya Hawke, Lili Taylor and Ben Wang.

Ralph Fiennes to Star as President Snow in ‘The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping’

– Acclaimed actor Ralph Fiennes has been cast as President Snow in Lionsgate’s upcoming adaptation of The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping, following in the footsteps of the late Donald Sutherland.
– The film, directed by Francis Lawrence and scripted by Billy Ray, is set 24 years before the events of the original Hunger Games series and revolves around the 50th Hunger Games event.
– The Hunger Games series of films have cumulatively generated over $3.3 billion globally, with Sunrise on the Reaping scheduled for release in cinemas on November 20, 2026.

Ralph Fiennes is set to star as the infamous Panem leader, President Snow, in the highly anticipated Lionsgate film The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping, directed by Francis Lawrence, according to exclusive reports from The Hollywood Reporter. Previously announced cast members include Joseph Zada, Whitney Peak, Mckenna Grace, Jesse Plemons, Kelvin Harrison Jr., Maya Hawke, Lili Taylor, and Ben Wang. The film will be a cinematic interpretation of Suzanne Collins’ commercially successful novel.

Fiennes inherits the role from the late actor Donald Sutherland, who vividly portrayed Coriolanus Snow in the first four installments of the series that debuted with The Hunger Games in 2012. In the 2023 prequel, The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes, Blyth took on a younger version of the same character, playing opposite Rachel Zegler.

The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping is slated for a theatrical release on November 20, 2026, under the direction of Lawrence and with a screenplay from Billy Ray based on Collins’ novel. The film is produced by Nina Jacobson and Brad Simpson for Color Force, while Cameron MacConomy serves as the executive producer.

Jacobson expressed enthusiasm about Fiennes’ casting, stating, “Our intention was to commend Donald Sutherland’s portrayal by casting one of the outstanding actors of this age as President Snow, twenty-four years prior to Katniss Everdeen’s entry into the arena. I’ve been eager to work with Ralph ever since his brilliant performance in Schindler’s List. We’re genuinely thrilled to welcome him to the Hunger Games.”

The plot of Sunrise on the Reaping transports readers back to Panem on the reaping day for the 50th Hunger Games, an event that occurs 24 years before the narrative of the first book in the franchise, The Hunger Games, which made its debut in 2008. The franchise’s first five films have amassed over $3.3 billion at the global box office, and were carried by Jennifer Lawrence who played the iconic role of Katniss Everdeen.

Fiennes is a seasoned actor, with three Oscar nominations to his credit, the most recent of which was for his role in last year’s Conclave. Other feature film projects in his pipeline are Nicholas Hytner’s The Choral and Danny Boyle’s 28 Years Later.