Maya Hawke to Portray Wiress in ‘Sunrise on the Reaping’: Who It Is & Why Fans Love It
Here’s everything we know about the latest Sunrise on the Reaping casting update and Maya Hawke’s Wiress — the character that contributed to Haymitch Abernathy’s victory in the 50th Hunger Games.
The Hunger Games’ next prequel titled Sunrise on the Reaping has recently found two more mentors for the second Quarter Quell, adding Kelvin Harrison Jr. as Beetee and Maya Hawke as Wiress to the leading cast, according to Deadline.
Having joined the movie’s ensemble now led by Joseph Zada and Whitney Peak, Hawke will portray a side character. However, Wiress was still one of those to play a key role in the outcome of the 50th Hunger Games that saw Haymitch outsmarting the Gamemakers and winning the bloody competition.
Though not much of Wiress’ backstory is revealed in The Hunger Games’ original franchise, Sunrise on the Reaping made sure its fans would want an entire spinoff about the character.
‘The Hunger Games’ Fans Can’t Be Happier About Maya Hawke’s Casting News
Apart from the actress being a great fit for the role, Hawke’s casting also brought another round of applause to Sunrise on the Reaping’s production team.
“No because who is the casting director, I need to build a temple for them”, Redditor Final_Patient347 admitted in a movie-related thread.
“The casting department is f—king COOKING”, PygmyFists agreed.
“This is perfection. Is there an Oscar for casting director? This person is killing it”, Careless-Muffin5512 also wrote in the comments.
“Wow the casting announcements just keep getting better and better!!”, spiritsandstories said.
Wiress’ Backstory in ‘The Hunger Games’ Franchise, Explained
Initially introduced in The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, Wiress is the victor of the 49th Hunger Games, coming as one of the mentors for District 12 tributes in “Sunrise on the Reaping”.
Before the 50th Hunger Games unfolds, Wiress is joined by her District 3 colleague Beetee who, just like her, also won the Hunger Games several years prior.
Both, coming from the district known for its advanced use of technologies and electronic devices, used all their knowledge while out there in the arena; however, Wiress’ victory story is all the way more compelling and worthy of yet another Hunger Games sequel.
In Sunrise on the Reaping, it’s revealed that Wiress had to compete in one of the most challenging games in history, with all tributes forced to wear shimmering tunics and the arena being full of deceiving reflective surfaces.
While everyone else was going mad due to the distracting nature of the arena, Wiress quickly figured out how exactly those reflective surfaces worked, finding a rock over the lake that would serve her as a blindspot.
Not noticed by any other tribute, she waited out until one more survivor was left, though she didn’t even have to fight him, making the competitor find his death on his own and drown in the lake.
When Is ‘Sunrise on the Reaping’ Being Released?
The movie hits theatres worldwide on November 20, 2026.
