Donald Sutherland, who passed away on June 20, was best known to a generation as the dictator President Snow of “The Hunger Games” film series, which adapted Suzanne Collins’ dystopian novels. While his performance was legendary, with the news that there’s an upcoming installment of the saga, some fans might wonder if he will be replaced.
While the main story of “The Hunger Games,” involving Katniss Everdeen’s journey, has been closed, Collins announced that she will publish a new novel, “Sunrise on the Reaping,” set 24 years before the events of the first book. This time, the story will be centering around the 50th Hunger Games, which were won by a young Haymitch Abernathy.
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In the original first four movies, Haymitch was portrayed by Woody Harrelson. As the upcoming film, serving as a prequel of the main story but a sequel of the recently released “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.” Here’s what could happen to President Snow’s role in “Sunrise on the Reaping,” set to be released in 2026.
Who could play President Snow in “Sunrise on the Reaping”?
As the film is set 24 years before the events of “The Hunger Games,” even before Sutherland’s passing, it was expected that the role would go to a younger actor in his late 50s or 60s, as the character would be 58 years old.
So, this would mean that a third person would go on to take the role of Snow, after Tom Blyth played the 18-year-old version of the character for “The Ballads of the Songbirds and Snake.” However, as the film is still in its pre-production stage, there’s no news around the casting yet.
Tom Blyth and Donald Sutherland as ‘President Snow’ (IMDb)
Apart from Snow and Haymitch, other characters that are expected to appear in the film include Maysilee Donner, a tribute from District 12 and the original owner of the mockingjay pin, who also happens to be Madge Undersee‘s aunt and a friend of Katniss’ mother.
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According to what we know about the 50th Hunger Games, the games were even more brutal back then as there were 48 tributes in total, as they demanded two girls and two boys from each district at the time. Talking about the novel, Collins said that the book will be centering more around the use of propaganda by those in power.
