Sunrise On The Reaping: How Every Returning Hunger Games Character Looks Compared To Previous Movies

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We’ve now seen the actors who are playing returning characters in The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping, letting fans compare their looks to those of the original cast. The new movie is a prequel focusing on a younger Haymitch Abernathy, a role previously played by Woody Harrelson in the four earlier Hunger Games films.

Because the new movie, Sunrise on the Reaping, takes place in the past within the Hunger Games story, many familiar characters needed to be recast. The movie will feature a number of returning faces from the book, and the first trailer offers a glimpse of some of them.

As a big fan of The Hunger Games, I was really excited to see Haymitch, Snow, Effie, and Plutarch all pop up in the new trailer! It’s wild seeing them younger, so I’ve been checking out side-by-side comparisons of how these characters look in the prequel compared to the original movies. It’s fascinating to see the evolution – or, in Snow’s case, the beginnings of his villainy!

Haymitch Abernathy

Joseph Zada is taking on the role of Haymitch Abernathy, previously played by Woody Harrelson, in the new movie Sunrise on the Reaping. The trailer shows him with blonde, curly hair, a clean-shaven face, and striking blue eyes.

Zada convincingly portrays a younger version of Harrelson’s character. The main physical change is Haymitch’s hair – it’s curly now, instead of straight, and a bit longer as he gets older.

Because Sunrise on the Reaping shows Haymitch as a 16-year-old, the slight differences in his appearance compared to Woody Harrelson’s portrayal make sense, given that Harrelson first played the character 24 years later. The younger Haymitch doesn’t have any facial hair, unlike the adult version who usually has some stubble.

President Coriolanus Snow

Ralph Fiennes will be playing President Coriolanus Snow in the new movie, Sunrise on the Reaping, and we’ve gotten our first glimpse of his take on the character. His appearance seems to strike a balance between the two previous versions of Snow. In the photos, Fiennes is wearing a red suit with a white rose on the lapel. He’s clean-shaven and sports slicked-back, shoulder-length gray hair.

He definitely looks like the character, fitting convincingly between the performances of Tom Blyth and Donald Sutherland. The red suit is a clever reference to Snow’s final outfit in Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. And his clean-shaven face matches Blyth’s younger depiction, unlike the beard Sutherland sported.

What really struck me about Snow in this version is his hair! It’s not the bright blonde we see when he’s younger, and it’s definitely not the completely white hair of his older years. It’s somewhere in between, which is so cool because the timeline fits! They said this takes place 40 years before the Snow we see with Blyth, and 24 years before Sutherland’s – so it makes total sense he’d be in this transition phase. It’s a really nice detail!

Effie Trinket

In the upcoming film Sunrise on the Reaping, Elle Fanning will play a young Effie Trinket – the character previously portrayed by Elizabeth Banks. Photos show Fanning with blonde, curled hair, a butterfly necklace, and a blue and orange outfit, complete with makeup.

This younger Effie has a noticeably different style compared to how Banks portrayed her. While still distinctive, her outfits aren’t as extravagant or attention-grabbing as her later looks.

Banks was known for her bold and eccentric costumes and frequently changing hair. It’s currently unknown whether Fanning will adopt a more understated style in the film, or if she’ll eventually wear outfits that reflect a more classic Effie look.

Despite the difference in appearance, Fanning still seems perfectly suited to play a younger version of Effie. Whether she continues with these relatively understated outfits or opts for more extravagant looks, she’ll still capture the character’s essence.

Plutarch Heavensbee

Jesse Plemons will be taking on the role of a younger Plutarch Heavensbee, a character originally played by Philip Seymour Hoffman in The Hunger Games: Catching Fire. This version of Plutarch will have a different look, sporting longer hair, a mustache, and sideburns.

Plemons appears noticeably different from Hoffman in this role. While Plutarch eventually has white or very light blonde hair, Plemons kept his natural strawberry blonde color. This actually works well, considering the character is younger in this depiction, and Hoffman’s darker eyebrows already offered a similar contrast to his hair.

The character now has a mustache, which is a new detail – Hoffman didn’t have any facial hair when he originally played the role. It’s likely actor Jesse Plemons decided to keep his own mustache, as he typically has one, and it wasn’t considered important to shave it off for the part.

Even though we haven’t seen who will play young Beetee, Wiress, and Mags in The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping yet, the movie is still expected to reveal more of its cast before it comes out next year.

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2025-11-20 19:01