- Reports link another actor to role formerly played by Kiefer’s father
- Kiefer seemingly overlooked for the part
- Fans react and rally for Kiefer on X
Kiefer Sutherland emerged as a top trend on X on Friday. The actor was a hot topic following reports about who was in talks to play President Coriolanus Snow in The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping. Here’s a hint, it wasn’t him.
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The role in the Hunger Games prequel film is being linked to three-time Academy Award nominated Ralph Fiennes. The Hollywood Handle dropped the news on X, which stirred strong emotions from fans.
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But why are Sutherland’s fans making such a fuss? It’s because the role was originally played by his late father, Donald Sutherland, in all four of the original Hunger Games films.
Sutherland Sr. portrayed the manipulative leader of Panem from the first movie in 2012 right through to 2015’s The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2.
While Fiennes’s impressive career as a movie villain makes him more than suited for the role – having portrayed the brutal Nazi commandant Amon Göth in Schindler’s List and Lord Voldemort in the Harry Potter films – many fans still believe that Sutherland Sr.’s son is the natural choice to inherit the role from his father. Sutherland Sr. passed away in June 2024 at the age of 88 from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
Fans rally for Keither Sutherland
X exploded with reactions as fans made their feelings known about the reports, questioning why Sutherland had seemingly been overlooked.
@FrequentUser99 cut straight to the point, responding to the news with “No. I like Ralph Fiennes as an actor, but Kiefer Sutherland is right there!” with a GIF showing Sutherland raising a glass.
@elizabethbelsky joked “If only Donald Sutherland already had a middle-aged son who looked exactly like him and was a well-known actor”.
As did @WSearch4Meaning, who said “But why? There is an exact copy of Mr Sutherland walking around…”
Meanwhile, @AaronSarnecky offered an alternative view, adding “As big a Kiefer Sutherland fan as I am, he has a distinctly different voice from his father despite the family resemblance. Also I wonder if he would abstain out of respect for his father.”
According to @http_migraine, Fiennes is the next best choice, they wrote “Best case scenario was Kiefer but this is a surprising second best case scenario that I had no idea about?!”
Official role casting yet to be announced
At this stage, Fiennes is only reported to be in negotiations for the role. Lionsgate has yet to confirm any official casting decisions, and no statements have been made by either Fiennes or Sutherland.
It’s perhaps worth noting though, that according to Suzanne Collins’ Hunger Games universe timeline, President Coriolanus Snow’s age would align closely to Sutherland’s real-life age.
The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping is set to be in theaters 20 November 2026.
