Kelvin Harrison Jr. has found his next big project in The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping, Deadline has confirmed. He’ll take on the role of Beetee, champion of the 34th Hunger Games and father of Ampert Latier, Tribute in the 50th Hunger Games.
Harrison joins an ensemble led by Joseph Zada and Whitney Peak, who respectively play Haymitch Abernathy and Lenore Dove Baird . Others set include Mckenna Grace as Maysilee Donner and Jesse Plemons as Plutarch Heavensbee.
Based on the bestselling dystopian YA novel by Suzanne Collins, published March 18, the Lionsgate pic revisits the world of Panem 24 years before the events of The Hunger Games, starting on the morning of the reaping of the 50th Hunger Games, also known as the Second Quarter Quell. The story centers on 16-year-old Haymitch, a clever and resourceful boy from District 12, who’s unexpectedly chosen for this edition of the games, which will feature a deadly twist: twice the number of tributes, with 48 children sent into the arena to battle for their lives.
Franchise veteran Francis Lawrence is directing the pic from a script by Billy Ray. Color Force’s Nina Jacobson and Brad Simpson are producing, with Cameron MacConomy exec producing. Meredith Wieck and Scott O’Brien are overseeing the project for the studio, for whom Robert Melnik negotiated the deals. Slated for release on November 20, 2026, the new film comes on the heels of five Hunger Games entries that have grossed more than $3.3 billion worldwide.
Best known for titles like Elvis, Waves, and It Comes at Night, Harrison’s recent credits include Mufasa: The Lion King, Genius: MLK/X, and Chevalier. Soon, he’ll be seen playing Jean-artist Michel Basquiat in Julius Onah’s Samo Lives, on which he’s also an executive producer.
The InSneider’s Jeff Sneider was first to his Sunrise on the Reaping casting.
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