After four action-packed movies, The Hunger Games fans got the chance to learn more about a young Coriolanus "Coryo" Snow (Tom Blyth), and now the spotlight is on the 50th Hunger Games. Suzanne Collins recently announced that she has written a fourth book in her popular series called Sunrise on the Reaping which will take place 24 years prior to the setting of the main story. Considering there is such a rich world to explore, from the history of the First and Second Rebellions to why the games even started in the first place, this is a great idea.

Now that there will also be a film adaptation, fans are curious about who will play the main character: a 16-year-old Haymitch Abernathy. Woody Harrelson played Haymitch in The Hunger Games trilogy perfectly, and now another actor is going to take over the complex character. There are some young actors who could step into Haymitch's shoes in The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping.

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Charlie Plummer

Charlie Plummer would be a great pick to play young Haymitch in The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping thanks to his versatile background of teen drama and other TV roles. While the actor broke out in the movie Not Fade Away and began getting attention, his career has included a fairly major role in Boardwalk Empire and playedthe main character, a suspicious and scary Tyler Burnside, in the horror movie The Clovehitch Killer. He also played Miles Halter in Looking For Alaska, the TV adaptation of the young adult novel by John Green.

Charlie Plummer's Best Roles

• Michael Thompson in Boardwalk Empire (2011-2013)
• Timmy Sanders in Granite Flats (2013-2015)
• Miles "Pudge" Halter in Looking For Alaska (2019)
• young Franklin D. Roosevelt in The First Lady (2022)
• Tyler in The Clovehitch Killer (2018)

Charlie Plummer's talent was clear in Looking For Alaska as he portrayed a teenager who begins attending Culver Creek, a boarding school. Plummer shows all of Miles's relatable worries, fears, and insecurities. Since Haymitch will be a teenager in The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping, it would make sense for an actor to portray him who has a background in these types of emotionally charged roles.

Noah Schnapp

Noah Schnapp became famous for playing Will Byers in Stranger Things and would also be a compelling young Haymitch in The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping. While he is of course most known for this role, Schnapp also played a small role in the silly horror comedy Hubie Halloween and Jackson in the 2023 psychological thriller The Tutor.

Noah Schnapp's Best Roles

• Roger Donovan in Bridge of Spies (2015)
• voice of Charlie Brown in The Peanuts Movie (2015)
• Tommy in Hubie Halloween (2020)
• Jackson in The Tutor (2023)
• Will Byers in Stranger Things (2016-now)

Will has had a complicated timeline on Stranger Things after getting pulled into the Upside Down in the very first episode. Schnapp plays Will with compassion and raw emotion, and he doesn't always share his feelings or thoughts with his friends. This is the complexity needed for a teenage Haymitch. Since Haymitch was the winner of the 50th Hunger Games, he carries around a lot of trauma from what he experienced. Noah Schnapp has done an impressive job portraying Will's sadness and would be the right fit.

Tanner Buchanan

Tanner Buchanan is best known for playing Robby Keene in Cobra Kai, and since he has a background playing a teenage character caught up in an exciting and action-packed world, he would also be an interesting choice for teenage Haymitch. While he starred in many children's projects when he was younger, Buchanan played the male lead in He's All That, Netflix's 2021 reboot of the popular teen drama She's All That.

Tanner Buchanan's Best Roles

• Lucas in Grey's Anatomy (2013)
• Mason Kendall in Game Shakers (2015-2019)
• Robby Keene in Cobra Kai (2018-now)
• Cameron Kweller in He's All That (2021)

Since Tanner Buchanan's Cobra Kai character is always physically active, the actor would be a smart pick for a younger Haymitch who has to learn how to fight and protect himself if he's going to win the Hunger Games. There are many great fight scenes in Cobra Kai and the actor does a solid job in every scene he's in.

Jack Champion

Jack Champion is a familiar face for Scream fans since he played Ethan Landry in Scream 6, and that character's brooding nature makes the actor a good choice to play Haymitch in The Hunger Games prequel. Ethan's true self is revealed by the end of Scream 6, and Champion did an amazing job playing a character with a big secret.

Jack Champion's Best Roles

• Aiden Tilden in Under The Dome (2015)
• Ethan Landry in Scream 6 (2023)
• Lucid in Freaky Tales (2024)

Jack Champion would also be a fun part of The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping cast because his career is getting more attention as he willstar in Avatar 3 and Avatar 4 as Miles "Spider" Socorro. Those movies won't be released until 2025 and 2029. It's often a good idea to cast an actor who isn't yet a household name because audiences aren't so used to seeing them that they can't separate them from their previous roles.

Zackary Arthur

Zackary Arthur played the main character Jake Wheeler in the SyFy Chucky series, which might be better than the movies. While he hasn't starred in many movies, playing young Haymitch in The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping would be a great chance for him to star in a major blockbuster and play another emotionally driven, complex character.

Zackary Arthur's Best Roles

• Sammy Sullivan in The 5th Wave (2016)
• Josh Ryan in Mom and Dad (2017)
• Zack Novak in Transparent (2014-2019)
• Jake Wheeler in Chucky (2021-now)

From his roles in The 5th Wave and the cheesy (yet otherwise forgettable) horror movie Mom and Dad, it's clear Zackary Arthur is great at portraying characters who find themselves in unexpected situations. They have to lean on themselves because they aren't sure who to trust. Arthur could play young Haymitch in The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping well, a character who is swept up in a terrifying battle that he knows he has to win.

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