The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reapingis due to release in cinemas on July 30, 2025 with the book fresh off the presses. This is significantly faster thanThe Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes, which released in print in 2020 and arrived on the silver screen in 2023. As such, the race is on for casting.
While no names have been officially confirmed for the role, there have been several reports linking some major names to some of the most recognisable characters. However, one character yet to receive much traction in these reports is Lenore Dove, a Covey girl who datesthe book’s star, Haymitch Abernathy. Amongst fancasts though, one name appears again and again: Alexa Barajas, best know for her work in the dramaYellowjackets.
Alexa Barajas Is Fans Top Choice For Lenore Dove
Barajas plays fan favourite Mari Ibarra, one of the most relatable characters on the show who grounds the more unhinged characters (Team Crazy, as Mari calls them) back in reality. Mari’s role grew in season three with her being part of several major arcs, including a conflict with Shauna, discovering Ben, and being one of the girls most desperate to go home. Unfortunately, this prominence was her undoing.
Spoilers follow for Yellowjackets' season three finale
Ever since the start of the show, there has beenmass speculation amongst the fanbaseas to the identity of Pit Girl, whom we see killed, butchered, and eaten in the premiere. The season three finale revealed this to be Mari, whichBarajas herself unaware of her fate until she read the script. However, this moment not only gives her the series' most iconic death, it also means Barajas presumably has a Hunger Games-shaped hole in her schedule.
Plutarch Heavensbee - Jesse Plemons
Elle Fanning - Effie Trinket
Interestingly, Barajas' Yellowjackets co-star and real-life partner Kevin Alves (Travis Martinez in the show) was also a popular fancast at one point for a more book accurate Haymitch, who is described as olive skinned with thick, dark hair, rather than the pale blonde look of Woody Harrelson and Charlie Plummer. However, it’s no real surprise that the filmmakers seem to be going in a direction that helps audiences see the character as a young Harrelson.
However, fans will be able to see Barajas and Alves reunited on screen soon, as the pair will star together in Avles directorial debut Lucky Weekend.
