Following in the footsteps of the late Phillip Seymour Hoffman is an impossible task. Yet Jesse Plemons feels like the right character actor to play Plutarch Heavensbee in the next Hunger Games movie.
Lionsgate announced Friday that Plemons will star as Plutarch in The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping. Plemons joins a cast that includes Joseph Zada as Haymitch Abernathy, Whitney Peak as Lenore Dove Baird, and Mckenna Grace as Maysilee Donner.
In the original Hunger Games trilogy, Plutarch Heavensbee first arrives in Catching Fire as the Head Gamemaker, replacing Seneca Crane. By the end of Catching Fire, it is revealed that Plutarch has been a double agent, working as a leader of the rebellion in the war against the Capitol. Hoffman portrayed Plutarch in Catching Fire and Mockingjay Parts 1 and 2. Hoffman died in February 2014, but the Oscar winner had completed most of his scenes in the Mockingjay films.
Plemons has emerged as a well-respected character actor. Plemons earned an Academy Award nomination for his performance in The Power of the Dog and scored an Emmy nod for his memorable turn in Fargo season 2. Plemons and Hoffman worked together in 2012 on Paul Thomas Anderson’s The Master, with Plemons playing Hoffman’s son.
Hunger Games author Suzanne Collins penned Sunrise on the Reaping, the second prequel to the original trilogy following The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. Released last month, the book broke sales records after selling more than 1.5 million English copies in its first week.
The film adaptation, The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping, will be directed by franchise veteran Francis Lawrence from a script by Billy Ray. Lawrence has directed every Hunger Games adaptation besides the first movie. Nina Jacobson and Brad Simpson will produce, while Cameron MacConomy will executive produce.
The five Hunger Games movies have grossed a combined $3.3 billion at the worldwide box office.