“Sunrise on the Reaping” director Francis Lawrence admitted he’s already thought of another possible prequel to add to the “Hunger Games” franchise, with one fan-favorite character on his mind.
While speaking with the Lionsgate social media team at the London premiere for “The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping,” Lawrence shouted out the character Plutarch Heavensbee, the calculated Capitol employee with rebellious goals.
“Wow, you know, I thought about this,” Lawrence said. “There [are] so many characters that I love … I think Plutarch’s a really interesting character and Jesse [Plemons] just did a tremendous job.”
Plemons plays a younger version of Plutarch in “Sunrise on the Reaping,” in which he’s a cameraman assigned to District 12 during the 50th Annual Hunger Games (aka the Second Quarter Quell). However, fans were first introduced to Plutarch in 2013’s “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire,” where the late Philip Seymour Hoffman played the scheming Head Gamemaker.
As Lawrence noted, given Plutarch’s complicated story, it “could be really interesting” to see his origins play out on the big screen.
Producer Nina Jacobson expressed a similar sentiment at the premiere, declaring herself a “Plutarch obsessive.”
“I’m a Plutarch obsessive, especially once you read this book,” she said. “He’s been at this for 25 years playing both sides. Like, how did you pull that off?”
Another “Hunger Games” prequel isn’t a wild thought, given the success of the first spinoff , 2023’s “The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes,” and the buzz surrounding the second prequel movie, “Sunrise on the Reaping.” Yet, both of those projects stemmed from prequel books penned by the original series’ author, Suzanne Collins.
The new “Hunger Games” prequel stars Joseph Zada, Mckenna Grace, Jesse Plemons, Ralph Fiennes, Glenn Close, Kieran Culkin, Elle Fanning, Billy Porter, among many other notable names.
The official logline reads: “‘Sunrise on the Reaping’ explores Panem 24 years before Katniss’ saga, starting on the morning of the reaping for the 50th Hunger Games, where a young Haymitch Abernathy participates.”
“The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping” is set to hit theaters Nov. 20, 2026.
