Young Royals star Edvin Ryding set to join cast of new Hunger Games film
"I’m gagged," said his Young Royals co-star Omar Rudberg
By Aaron Sugg
Young Royals star Edvin Ryding has officially joined the cast of The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping, joining the likes of Elle Fanning.
Ryding’s casting was revealed in a social media video shared by the Hunger Games franchise on X last Friday 25 July.
He will play Vitus, one of the Capitol student stylists assigned to the four District 12 tributes competing in the 50th Hunger Games.
The Swedish actor is best known for his lead role as Prince Wilhelm in the Netflix series Young Royals, a coming-of-age gay romance.
The show’s three seasons explored Wilhelm’s relationship with classmate Simon, played by Omar Rudberg, and the tension between royal duty and queer love. The series finale aired in March 2024.
“I’m gagged” – Omar Rudberg on finding out his co-star is acting in the film
Rudberg teased that he knew his Young Royals co-star was featuring in the film for a while, without mentioning Ryding by name, he told his X following how he first found out that his friend had been cast in the franchise.
“I go hey what u up to? He [Ryding] goes nothing just chilling watching a movie. I go what movie. He goes hunger games, you know just getting ready. I go for what? He smiles and that’s when I threw my phone away and he laughs and I’m gagged.”
i go hey what u up to? He goes nothing just chilling watching a movie. I go what movie. He goes hunger games, you know just getting ready. I go for what? He smiles and that’s when I threw my phone away and he laughs and I’m gagged
— O M A R (@OmarRudberg) July 26, 2025
More recently the 22-year-old starred as a Swedish NATO soldier in 28 Years Later, but now Ryding joins the ever-expanding world of Panem alongside a star-studded ensemble.
Already confirmed for the film are Joseph Zada as a young Haymitch Abernathy, Whitney Peak as his girlfriend Lenore Dove Baird, and Mckenna Grace as fellow tribute Maysilee Donner.
Elle Fanning will be taking on the role of a gay fan favourite, as the younger Effie Trinket.
“May the odds forever be in your favour”
In an interview with Entertainment Tonight, she spoke about her love for the character and her appreciation for original Effie Trinket actress, Elizabeth Banks.
She recalled that although filming had not begun yet, Banks had sent her flowers along with a note that read: “May the odds forever be in your favour.”
Legendary actors Glenn Close and Billy Porter have also joined the cast as tribute mentor Drusilla Sickle and her flamboyant, often-inebriated stylist husband, Magno Stift.
Sunrise on the Reaping is set between the events of The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes and the original Hunger Games trilogy, following a young Haymitch during the 50th Hunger Games.
The film is slated to hit cinemas on 20 November 2026.