Soon, Woody Harrelson won’t be the only actor to have portrayed Hunger Games fan-favorite Haymitch Abernathy on the big screen.
The character’s backstory will be explored on the big screen in the upcoming prequel film Sunrise on the Reaping, which is expected to hit theaters next year. The movie will follow the events of Suzanne Collins’ latest Hunger Games installment of the same title, which was released on Tuesday, March 18. The two projects were announced at the same time back in June 2024, something that producer Nina Jacobson said has made it an “interesting challenge” to cast a younger version of Haymitch.
“Because of this early manuscript not being published, we haven’t even been able to read actors for fear that sides could leak!” Jacobson, who has produced all five of the Hunger Games films, shared in an interview with Variety published on Thursday, March 20. “We’ve been holding our breath for a long time, but I think that what we’re looking for in that role is, you don’t want somebody who’s impersonating Woody, but you want somebody who very credibly feels like they could be a young version of this character, before the trauma and grief and rage that the fallout of the Games create.”
Noting that “nobody can be Woody Harrelson but Woody Harrelson,” Jacobson added, “You have to find that mischief that he has in him inherently and try to understand, if you turn back time from the man you meet at the beginning of The Hunger Games, who he was before all of that, and why he became that.”
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Jacobson, 59, called the role “great” because the character will “give an actor a chance to really show their chops and the range that they have.”
Sunrise on the Reaping is set 24 years before the original Hunger Games book and follows Haymitch’s journey competing in the 50th Hunger Games, during which he competed against twice the normal amount of tributes. In addition to featuring appearances from beloved characters, the book showcases Haymitch’s life in District 12 and the devastating consequences of his actions in the Hunger Games arena.
Woody Harrelson and Jennifer Lawrence in ‘The Hunger Games.’ Murray Close/©Lionsgate/Courtesy Everett Collection
No casting for the Sunrise on the Reaping film has been announced, including whether Harrelson, 63, will reprise his role as Haymitch. The actor addressed the possibility of returning to the franchise in an interview with Screen Rant Plus last month, teasing that they can use CGI to de-age him into his 16-year-old self.
“It’s not that long ago I was 16,” he joked. When asked if he has any involvement in the film, Harrelson replied, “Absolutely not.” The interviewer, however, pointed out that Harrelson nodded his head while answering the question.
In her interview with Variety, Jacobson said she and the film’s crew are “much further along” in the production process than expected because they got started right after the movie and book’s announcement. “We have a great draft that we’re still doing work on. We’ve established our locations,” she told the outlet. “We’re very far along for a book that’s only going to come out tomorrow!”
