Billy Porter is heading to Panem. The multi-award winning performer has officially joined the cast of The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping, the upcoming film adaptation of Suzanne Collins’ latest novel in the blockbuster franchise.
Porter will play Magno Stift, a jaded designer assigned to the District 12 tributes — and the estranged husband of Drusilla Sickle, the district’s ruthless escort, played by fellow new cast member Glenn Close.
They join a stacked ensemble including Joseph Zada, Whitney Peak, Mckenna Grace, Jesse Plemons, Kelvin Harrison Jr., Maya Hawke, Lili Taylor, Ben Wang, Ralph Fiennes, Elle Fanning, and Kieran Culkin.
Directed by longtime Hunger Games filmmaker Francis Lawrence and written by Billy Ray, Sunrise on the Reaping is set for release on November 20, 2026. Nina Jacobson and Brad Simpson return to produce under Color Force, with Cameron MacConomy executive producing.
Set 24 years before Katniss Everdeen’s rise, Sunrise on the Reaping begins on the day of the reaping for the Fiftieth Hunger Games, also known as the Second Quarter Quell. The story dives deep into the dark legacy of Panem’s most notorious arenas — and the people forced to survive them.
The book, released March 18, has already proven a hit, selling 1.5 million copies in its first week across the U.S., UK, Canada, Australia, and more — including 1.2 million copies sold domestically. That figure is double the debut numbers for The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes and triple that of Mockingjay.
Porter, who made history with his Emmy-winning turn on Pose, recently debuted on London’s West End in Cabaret and is set to make his directorial debut with This Bitter Earth at Soho Theatre. He also earned Tony Awards for both his performance in Kinky Boots and as a producer of A Strange Loop, and will next be seen in the holiday film Christmas Karma.
Meanwhile, Glenn Close — an eight-time Oscar nominee and three-time Emmy, Tony, and Golden Globe winner — joins the film after recent roles in Back in Action, The Deliverance, and Tehran. She’s also set to appear in Netflix’s Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery and Hulu’s All’s Fair.
The five Hunger Games films have earned more than $3.3 billion globally, and with Sunrise on the Reaping, Lionsgate is betting on another high-stakes hit.