But that’s not all. Porter and Close will play toxic, estranged ex-spouses, with some great (and ridiculous) Panem names to boot. Porter is Magno Stift, a designer to the tributes, per Variety. It sounds like he’s essentially a proto version of Lenny Kravitz’s Cinna from the original films, but this character is, again, named Magno Stift. Close’s character is almost as good. She’ll play Drusilla Sickle, a cruel escort to the District 12 tributes (i.e., a presumably less colorful version of Elizabeth Banks’ Effie Trinket).
“Glenn Close is a dream Drusilla. She brings so much of her intellect and imagination to each role, creating characters who are unforgettable and iconic,” producer Nina Jacobson said in a statement, per Variety. “Billy is one of those rare performers who can dazzle and devastate in equal measure on stage and screen. He made an indelible impression on me when we worked together on Pose, both as an actor and a human being.”
Sunrise On The Reaping—based on Suzanne Collins’ March novel of the same name—serves as a prequel to the original Hunger Games stories. It tells the story of the 50th Games, known as the Quarter Quell, which dealt Haymitch his victory. They also sparked a revolution that had been brewing long before Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence in the original films) came onto the scene 24 years later. “Sunrise On The Reaping reveals that the rebellion certainly accelerated because of [Katniss’] actions, but it didn’t form because of her; it had been there all along,” The A.V. Club‘s Jen Lennon wrote of the novel in a recent essay. “That realization is even more staggering because, in the real world, so much has changed in the past 15 years that it feels like forever since the original Hunger Games trilogy ended.”
We can compare Panem’s capital to our own when Sunrise On The Reaping hits theaters November 20, 2026. At least there aren’t any Magnos or Drusillas in the real world’s administration. (Yet.)
