Kieran Culkin snags blockbuster role in new Hunger Games prequel

Kieran Culkin has been announced as the latest cast member of The Hunger Games: Sunrise On The Reaping, playing Caesar Flickerman.

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The film is a prequel to the original trilogy, based on Suzanne Collins’ novel of the same name, and is set 25 years before the first Hunger Games story. It focuses on the 50th games, in particular the reaping, in which tributes for the deadly event are chosen. The lead character is Haymitch Abernathy, played by Woody Harrelson in the original films. Joseph Zada with portray the younger version in this film.

Culkin, who won Best Supporting Actor at the Academy Awards in March, will play Flickerman, the glamorous host of the games. Stanley Tucci played the older version of the character in all four of the original movies. The film will be his first live action role since his Oscar winning turn in Jesse Eisenberg’s A Real Pain. The actor will voice a character in Andy Serkis’ adaptation of George Orwell’s Animal Farm, set to premiere in June.

Speaking about Culkin’s casting, Lionsgate Motion Picture Group co-president Erin Westerman said in a statement (via Variety): “Kieran’s scene-stealing presence and undeniable charm are perfect for Caesar Flickerman, the sickeningly watchable host of Panem’s darkest spectacle. Stanley Tucci made Caesar unforgettable—and now Kieran will make the role entirely his own”.

The Hunger Games: Sunrise On The Reaping is set for release on November 20, 2026. Culkin and Zada will appear alongside Whitney Peak as Lenore Dove Baird, Mckenna Grace as Maysilee Donner, Jesse Plemons as Plutarch Heavensbee, Maya Hawke as Wiress, Elle Fanning as Effie Trinket and Ralph Fiennes as President Snow.

The film will be the sixth instalment of the Hunger Games franchise. The first four movies, focusing on Jennifer Lawrence’s Katniss Everdeen, were released between 2012 and 2015, all of which were box office hits. The prequel The Ballad Of Songs & Snakes, focusing on a younger President Snow, came out in 2023.

In March, Culkin won over viewers at the Oscars with an emotional, sweary acceptance speech. One onlooker said they believed it “Will go down in history as one of the best ever”.

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