Kieran Culkin joins cast of 'Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping'

By Jessica Inman
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Kieran Culkin, winner of Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role for "A Real Pain," appears backstage during the SAG Awards on February 23. He is joining the cast of the upcoming "Hunger Games" prequel film. File Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI
1 of 5 | Kieran Culkin, winner of Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role for "A Real Pain," appears backstage during the SAG Awards on February 23. He is joining the cast of the upcoming "Hunger Games" prequel film. File Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI | License Photo

May 22 (UPI) -- A Real Pain actor Kieran Culkin is joining the cast of Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping, which is scheduled to arrive in theaters Nov. 20, 2026.

He will portray a younger version of Hunger Games host Caesar Flickerman in the prequel film. Stanley Tucci played the character in the original films.

Lionsgate Motion Picture Group co-president Erin Westerman said that "Kieran's scene-stealing presence and undeniable charm are perfect" for the role.

"Stanley Tucci made Caesar unforgettable -- and now Kieran will make the role entirely his own," she added.

Nina Jacobson, a producer on the film, said that Culkin's complexity will allow him to capture the way that "Ceasar transforms brutality into entertainment."

Conclave actor Ralph Fiennes is set to portray President Coriolanus Snow, replacing the late Donald Sutherland, who died in June 2024.

Other previously announced cast members include Whitney Peak, Mckenna Grace, Jesse Plemons, Kelvin Harrison Jr., Maya Hawke, Lili Taylor and Ben Wang.

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