Hunger Games Prequel Director Explains Why Haymitch Casting Search Just Started Despite Getting The Manuscript A Year Ago

Even though Lionsgate announced the development of Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping last summer, director Francis Lawrence explains why casting for a young Haymitch has only just started. It came as a big surprise last June when a prequel novel about Haymitch’s 50th Hunger Games was being written by series author Suzanne Collins. The studio simultaneously confirmed that Sunrise on the Reaping would also be adapted into a movie, setting the release for November 20, 2026. This sparked many rumors and fan casting about who would portray the young Haymitch after Woody Harrelson portrayed the older version in the original Hunger Games trilogy.