'Sunrise on the Reaping' Officially Changes Major Hunger Games Character [Exclusive]

Returning to Panem decades before Katniss Everdeen volunteered as tribute has required The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping to recast several of the franchise's most recognizable characters. The upcoming prequel introduces younger versions of Haymitch, Effie, Plutarch, Wiress, and Beetee, each played by an actor tasked with honoring an established performance without simply imitating it. For Kelvin Harrison Jr., following Jeffrey Wright came with an unexpected advantage.

Harrison stars as a younger Beetee Latier, the technologically gifted District 3 victor whom Wright portrayed in Catching Fire and both Mockingjay movies. While attending the Toronto International Film Festival with Alpha Gang, Harrison spoke with Collider's Perri Nemiroff about inheriting the character from an actor he already knew and admired. Although initially nervous to share the casting news, Harrison ultimately contacted Wright before heading to the set.

Harrison revealed that Wright was excited to learn he would be playing Beetee, even if the announcement made their growing number of professional connections feel suspiciously like stalking. The actors discussed Wright's original characterization shortly before Harrison began filming, giving him something to carry into his own performance. Harrison recalled:

“I was so scared to tell him because I think he feels like I'm stalking him at this point, because I think we have like four projects now that we were kind of connected to. But I eventually did text him and I was like, ‘Hey, by the way, I'm going to do The Hunger Games. I'm playing Beetee.’ And he was just like, ‘That's amazing.’ He was really happy for me, but in his very Jeffrey way, so it was cool.”

Kelvin Harrison Jr. Took Jeffrey Wright's Beetee With Him

Harrison was particularly interested in the sense of curiosity Wright brought to Beetee, whose intelligence is rooted in genuine excitement about analysis, discovery, and understanding how things work. However, Sunrise on the Reaping meets Beetee at a much different point in his life, allowing Harrison to showcase another side of the character before years of trauma reshape him. As the actor jokingly explained:

“I think he has this wonderment and this real love for just thinking and discovery and analytics, and I think my version is just a little bit like he's cooler. [Laughs] Beetee, when we meet him, has been through a lot and I think we get to see him at a different point. If you've read the books you kind of know.”

Based on Suzanne Collins' 2025 novel, Sunrise on the Reaping begins on the morning of the 50th Hunger Games, when twice as many tributes are selected for the Second Quarter Quell. Joseph Zada leads the cast as a teenage Haymitch Abernathy, with Mckenna Grace, Whitney Peak, Elle Fanning, Jesse Plemons, Maya Hawke, Ralph Fiennes, Kieran Culkin, Glenn Close, and Lili Taylor also starring.

The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping premieres in theaters on November 20, 2026. Stay tuned for more from Collider at TIFF, including Nemiroff's full conversation with the cast and crew of Alpha Gang.