'I VOLUNTEER'

Hunger Games Franchise Unveils Hollywood A-Lister As Main Villain

Ralph Fiennes will play President Snow in the upcoming film, which debuts in November 2026.

Hunger Games fans have been holding their breath as production company Lionsgate slowly reveals the Sunrise on the Reaping cast. On Friday, the franchise shocked fans by announcing that Ralph Fiennes will play President Snow in the movie, which lands in theaters in fall 2026. President Snow, the tyrant who rules the fictional land of Panem with an iron fist, was originally played by the late Donald Sutherland in the series’ first installments. Now, three-time Oscar-nominated Fiennes will join the dystopian flick along with Joseph Zada, Whitney Peak, Mckenna Grace, Jesse Plemons, Kelvin Harrison Jr., Maya Hawke, Lili Taylor, and Ben Wang. The movie is based on Suzanne Collins’ best-selling novel and follows a group of young teens who are forced to fight each other to the death in a brutal televised game. After Sutherland played Coriolanus Snow in the first four Hunger Games films, Tom Blyth starred as a younger version of the dictator opposite Rachel Zegler in the 2023 prequel The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes. The new film is directed by Francis Lawrence, scripted by Billy Ray, and produced by Nina Jacobson, Brad Simpson, and Cameron MacConomy.