Jesse Plemons Reportedly Eyed for Plutarch Heavensbee Role in ‘Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping’

Exciting news for Hunger Games fans! A brand-new movie called The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping is officially on the way. After a new prequel book was announced in June 2024, Lionsgate quickly confirmed that a film version is also in the works. The movie is scheduled to hit theaters on November 20, 2026.

This film will take fans back in time. It’s set 40 years after The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes and 24 years before the original Hunger Games movies that starred Katniss Everdeen. The story will focus on the 2nd Quarter Quell, a special and very early version of the Hunger Games. This event took place long before Katniss’s time and promises to reveal more about the dark and dangerous history of Panem.

Fans will get to explore a very different version of the Capitol and the Districts, during a time when the world of Panem was still changing. The film will uncover secrets from the past and show how the Games—and the people in power—began to shape the future.

Another exciting detail? According to insider Daniel Richtman on his Patreon, actor Jesse Plemons has been offered the role of Plutarch Heavensbee in Sunrise on the Reaping. Plutarch is a high-ranking Capitol official known to fans of the original series, and this earlier version of the character could show us a new side of his story.

Jesse Plemons is known for his strong performances in both film and television, and fans are already buzzing about the idea of him stepping into the world of The Hunger Games.

Francis Lawrence, who directed several of the previous Hunger Games films, is also in early talks to return and direct this new prequel. His past work on the series has been praised for bringing the action, emotion, and intensity of Suzanne Collins’ books to life on the big screen.

With a brand-new story, a return to the arena, possible new stars like Jesse Plemons, and a familiar director at the helm, The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping is shaping up to be one of the most exciting movies of 2026.