As the world remembers the late Donald Sutherland’s unforgettable portrayal of President Snow, Ralph Fiennes is stepping into the role — not to replace him, but to honor him.
Fiennes, 62, has officially been cast as Coriolanus Snow in The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping, the highly anticipated prequel set decades before Katniss Everdeen first entered the arena. Reflecting on Sutherland’s legacy, Fiennes is approaching the role with deep respect and humility.
“I’m not going to try and be Donald Sutherland,” Fiennes said during the London premiere of 28 Years Later on June 18. “Because no one can be him.”
The legendary Sutherland passed away in June 2024 at the age of 88, leaving behind a legacy that helped define the original Hunger Games saga. His chilling performance as the ruthless Panem dictator left a lasting mark on audiences around the world.
“I worked with Donald once,” Fiennes recalled in an interview with Entertainment Tonight. “He was fantastic. He brought a wonderful complexity to Snow — and now, I’m challenged but excited to carry that forward, playing a slightly younger version of him.”
Fiennes and Sutherland previously shared the screen in the 2006 political thriller Land of the Blind. Now, Fiennes returns to that same territory of power and manipulation, embodying a version of Snow shaped by early ambition and moral decay.
Set 24 years before Katniss’s rebellion, Sunrise on the Reaping explores the rise of Snow and the trauma behind Haymitch Abernathy’s victory in the Games. Rising star Joseph Zada, 20, will portray a young Haymitch — the role made famous by Woody Harrelson — as he navigates survival, strategy, and sacrifice in a brutal Capitol spectacle.
The ensemble cast also includes Jesse Plemons, Kelvin Harrison Jr., Maya Hawke, Elle Fanning, Kieran Culkin, Mckenna Grace, Whitney Peak, Lili Taylor, and Ben Wang.
Producer Nina Jacobson, who helped bring the original films to life, shared her excitement about the casting: “Working with Ralph has been on my bucket list since Schindler’s List. We wanted someone with gravitas, and he’s one of the greatest actors of our time. He won’t imitate Sutherland — he’ll build upon what he created.”
The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping is scheduled to premiere in theaters on November 20, 2026 — a return to Panem, to power, and to the dark origins of one of fiction’s most enigmatic villains.
Source: People Magazine
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