Jesse Plemons is heading to Panem.
The Academy Award-nominated star has joined The Hunger Games prequel Sunrise on the Reaping as the younger version of a character originated by a familiar collaborator. Plemons has been cast as Plutarch Heavensbee, played by the late and great Philip Seymour Hoffman in the original film franchise.
Notably, Plemons previously starred opposite Hoffman as his onscreen son in Paul Thomas Anderson’s 2012 psychological drama The Master.
“Jesse is one of the most talented actors of his generation, with a proven record of picking his roles selectively,” Erin Westerman, co-president of Lionsgate Motion Picture Group, said in a statement. “We are honored that he has chosen to bring his own take to one of the most fascinating figures in Panem, and feel that his previous collaboration with Philip Seymour Hoffman makes it all the more special. His Plutarch will be both a tribute to the character fans have already come to know and a portrayal he makes his own.”
Jesse Plemons and Philip Seymour Hoffman in ‘The Master’. ANNAPURNA; Phil Bray/Weinstein Company/Courtesy Everett
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The upcoming prequel centers on a teenage Haymitch Abernathy (originated by Woody Harrelson and to be played by Joseph Zada in this iteration) as he’s reaped for the 50th Hunger Games, otherwise known as the Second Quarter Quell. Plutarch, future Head Gamemaker of the 75th Hunger Games and commander of the rebel forces, is a young Capitol cameraman in this timeline who is tasked with documenting the tributes of District 12. (And he’s already got rebellion on his brain.)
Hoffman, who died in February of 2014, made his final on-screen appearance in the last two films of the franchise, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 and Part 2. Franchise director Francis Lawrence, who will return to helm the upcoming prequel, did not use CGI to complete Hoffman’s remaining scenes, instead opting to rewrite the script and redistributing some of his dialogue to other characters.
“He was one of the greatest actors, I think, of all time, and I just think to try to fake a Philip Seymour Hoffman performance would have been catastrophic and I would never want to do that,” Lawrence told HuffPost in late 2014. “I just think this was the best way to be able to get around such a horrible thing.”
Philip Seymour Hoffman as Plutarch Heavensbee in ‘The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1’. Murray Close/Lionsgate/Courtesy Everett
Plemons’ most recent credits include Alex Garland’s unnerving dystopian feature Civil War and Yorgos Lanthimos’ surrealist dramedy Kinds of Kindness, as well as the miniseries Zero Day and anthology series Black Mirror.
Whitney Peak has also been cast as Lenore Dove, Haymitch’s girlfriend and a Covey descendant of none other than Lucy Gray Baird from the Coriolanus Snow prequel The Ballad of Songbirds of Snakes, which was adapted into a film in 2023. Rachel Zegler played Lucy Gray, while Tom Blyth played a young Coriolanus Snow, originated by the late Donald Sutherland in the original film franchise. Mckenna Grace has also joined as Maysilee Donner, Haymitch’s fellow District 12 tribute and ally.
Ready to return to the arena? Sunrise on the Reaping arrives in theaters Nov. 20, 2026.
