*Courtesy of Rebecca Sapp/Getty Images for Santa Barbara International Film Festival.*

Lionsgate has officially found its new President Snow. Ralph Fiennes is set to take on the role of the formidable Panem leader in ‘The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping,’ directed by franchise veteran Francis Lawrence, The Hollywood Reporter has exclusively revealed.

Fiennes joins a star-studded cast that includes Joseph Zada, Whitney Peak, Mckenna Grace, Jesse Plemons, Kelvin Harrison Jr., Maya Hawke, Lili Taylor, and Ben Wang. The film is based on Suzanne Collins’ latest installment in the Hunger Games saga.

The role of President Coriolanus Snow was originally portrayed by the late Donald Sutherland across the franchise’s first four films, which began with the 2012 release of ‘The Hunger Games.’ More recently, Tom Blyth played a younger Snow opposite Rachel Zegler in the 2023 prequel *The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes*.

‘Sunrise on the Reaping’ is slated for a theatrical release on November 20, 2026. The script, adapted from Collins’ novel, is penned by Billy Ray. Producers Nina Jacobson and Brad Simpson return under the Color Force banner, with Cameron MacConomy serving as executive producer.

“We wanted to honor Donald Sutherland by having one of this generation’s greatest actors play President Snow 24 years before Katniss Everdeen entered the arena,” Jacobson says. “Working with Ralph has been on my bucket list since he traumatized me for life in Schindler’s List. It’s genuinely a thrill to welcome him to the Hunger Games.”

Meredith Wieck and Scott O’Brien are overseeing the project for Lionsgate, while Phil Strina negotiated the deal on behalf of the studio.

The story returns to Panem during the 50th Hunger Games, also known as the Second Quarter Quell, which occurs 24 years prior to the events of the original novel published in 2008. The Hunger Games franchise has earned over $3.3 billion at the global box office, with the first four films headlined by Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen.

Fiennes, a three-time Academy Award nominee, was most recently recognized for his role in ‘Conclave.’ His upcoming projects include ‘The Choral,’ directed by Nicholas Hytner, and Danny Boyle’s ‘28 Years Later,’ releasing this summer.

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