{"id":1554,"date":"2025-04-24T10:45:32","date_gmt":"2025-04-24T10:45:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.scubadiscounters.com\/?p=1554"},"modified":"2025-04-28T03:21:41","modified_gmt":"2025-04-28T03:21:41","slug":"hollywood-must-learn-this-one-lesson-from-the-hunger-games-bold-announcement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.scubadiscounters.com\/index.php\/2025\/04\/24\/hollywood-must-learn-this-one-lesson-from-the-hunger-games-bold-announcement\/","title":{"rendered":"Hollywood must learn this one lesson from The Hunger Games\u2019 bold announcement"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n\t\t\"\"\t<\/div>
Joseph Zada will play Haymitch, while Whitney Peak will play Lenore Dove in the new Hunger Games film (Picture: REX)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Hunger Games<\/a>: Sunrise on the Reaping has officially cast two of the movie\u2019s leading roles: young Haymitch Abernathy and his girlfriend Lenore Dove Baird, earning a massive reaction from fans.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The new film, based on the bestselling novel by Suzanne Collins and the sixth installment in The Hunger Games franchise, is set to hit cinemas in November 2026.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Lionsgate has confirmed that Joseph Zada will play Haymitch, while Whitney Peak will play Lenore. While both actors are successful in their own right, many fans have taken to social media<\/a> to celebrate what a relief it is to see relative unknowns cast by a major franchise.\u00a0<\/p>\n

X user @azzurrochurro wrote: \u2018Casting unknowns as leads, we are so back!\u2019<\/p>\n

@rhinoteeth agreed: \u2018The only franchise still casting unknown actors instead of people based on their Instagram followers \ud83d\udcaa\ud83d\udcaa\u2019<\/p>\n

@GaliCITHX was thrilled with Whitney Peak as a choice for the female lead, writing: \u2018Are you kidding me? Her casting is amazing! She is the perfect Lenore Dove\u2728\ud83e\udd0d\u2019<\/p>\n

\n
\n\t\t\t<\/div>
Sunrise on the Reaping is the sixth film in the Hunger Games franchise (Picture: AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n
\n\t\t\"Mandatory\t<\/div>
Whitney Peak has also previously modeled for Chanel (Picture: Laurent VU\/SIPA\/REX\/Shutterstock)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n
\n\t\t\"sunrise\t<\/div>
Joseph Zada has been cast as Haymich (Picture: Lionsgate)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

@ultronymous chimed in: \u2018Finally, new actors are being hired!\u2019<\/p>\n

@BlueRobin101 also celebrated the news: \u2018Young unknowns! That\u2019s great!\u2019<\/p>\n

It\u2019s worth noting that Whitney has undoubtedly been involved in some notable projects, starring in the HBO Max revival of Gossip Girl from 2021 to 2023, as well as the Apple TV+ series Home Before Dark in 2020, and the Netflix series Chilling Adventures of Sabrina from 2019 to 2020.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Joseph Zada has appeared in television series such as Total Control and the Stan Australia series Invisible Boys, as well as the Australian movies Bilched in 2019 and The Speedway Murders in 2023. He is also set to appear in the Netflix series East of Eden and the Amazon Prime Video television show We Were Liars.<\/p>\n

Still, there\u2019s a world of difference between suddenly facing Harry Styles\u2014minus the sequins\u2014on a World War II battlefield, and vaguely wondering if you recognise young Haymitch from fifteen blurry minutes of a TV show you once caught in a dermatologist\u2019s waiting room.<\/p>\n

\n
\n\t\t\"Editorial\t<\/div>
The role of older Haymitch was previously played by Woody Harrelson (Picture: Lionsgate\/Kobal\/Shutterstock)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n
\n

https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/reel\/DIzhfsVTsgl\/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

\n
\n

https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/reel\/DIzfcWvT8OR\/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

Casting well-known actors has the benefit of drawing audiences, sure, but when you\u2019re trying to create a world as separate from our own as Panem, big stars make it harder for viewers to immerse themselves in the fantasy.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It can also be challenging to disentangle associations with actors from their previous roles or even their movie star personas. For example, when Matt Damon appeared in Thor: Ragnarok, it felt like the boom mic and green screen suddenly came into view. What\u2019s this Red Sox fan doing on my screen in his schmaltzy Halloween costume?<\/p>\n

The Hunger Games franchise has a long legacy of casting relative unknowns; after all, Jennifer Lawrence would have never gone on to win an Oscar and become an A-lister if she hadn\u2019t first been cast as Katniss in 2012.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n

hunger games franchise never beating the perfect casting allegations they\u2019re always gonna see the vision before anyone else<\/p>\n

\u2014 trin (@lovelltrin) April 23, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n

\n
\n