'Stranger Things' star Maya Hawke cast in upcoming 'Hunger Games' movie
'The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping' is scheduled to hit theaters in 2026.
A second prequel novel in the iconic Hunger Games franchise was released earlier this year entitled Sunrise on the Reaping. The first prequel, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes and its 2023 cinematic adaptation, were big hits with fans and critics. They focused on the villainous Coriolanus Snow during his youth, before his turn to darkness, and on his tragically ill-fated love story with Lucy Gray Baird.
For its part, the new prequel was centered of Haymitch Abernathy, mentor and father figure to the main characters Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark in the original books and films. Early development on a movie version of the book began long before the source material hit shelves. Several casting announcements have been made, now including Maya Hawke.
Hawke has been announced as playing Wiress, a past victor of the Hunger Games from District 3. The character was previously portrayed by actress Amanda Plummer in The Hunger Games: Catching Fire.
In Sunrise on the Reaping, Wiress is tasked along with Mags Flanagan of District 4 to advise and guide Haymitch and his fellow District 12 tributes leading up to the vaunted Quarter Quell. Australian actor Joseph Zada has been cast as Haymitch after the part was played by Woody Harrelson throughout the earlier film series. Announced as Mags was Lili Taylor, who follows the performance given by the late Lynn Cohen in Catching Fire. Other announced cast members include Whitney Peak, Kelvin Harrison Jr., Mckenna Grace and Jesse Plemons.
Maya Hawke is best known for her role on the Netflix smash Stranger Things. On the series, she appears as Robin Buckley, one half of a fan-favorite duo with Steve Harrington played by Joe Keery and one of several residents in small town Indiana who find themselves at the forefront of a secret war with inhabitants of another dimension.
Among Hawke’s other acting credits are Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Inside Out 2, Asteroid City and Maestro. She is also a noted musician.