Open casting calls are not a new thing in Hollywood.
The Hunger Games is the latest to use the process in the search to find one lucky fan to potentially star in the upcoming movie installment titled Sunrise on the Reaping.
But there’s one thing the casting directors didn’t account for that has derailed the plan.
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The official Hunger Games social media account has been dropping casting announcements for the highly-anticipated movie one-by-one over the last month.
The new film features an all-star cast made up of Ralph Fiennes, Kieran Culkin, Elle Fanning, Maya Hawke, Jesse Plemons and Australia’s very own up-and-coming star, Joseph Zada who has taken on the leading role of Haymitch Abernathy.
The film is a prequel to the original trilogy, and follows a young Haymitch from the morning he is reaped as a tribute in the 50th Hunger Games.
So, naturally fans went wild when it was announced the movie would be opening up auditions for one person from the US who is over 18 years old to visit the movie set and score a potential background role in the film.
“Your turn. This is an official casting call: one lucky fan will be selected for a role in Sunrise on the Reaping,” the casting announcement shared to millions across social media platforms read.
“To audition, show us your best: act out a scene, perform a song, or surprise us with something completely new. All talents welcome. No previous experience necessary.”
Fans were instructed to keep their video auditions to a minute or less.
For Lionsgate to see it, they simply needed to tag the official Hunger Games account and include the hashtags #SOTRCastingContest and #TheHungerGames in the caption.
Casting officially closes June 6, 2025 at 11:59 pm PT.
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Simple enough rules, right?
Just based off the above prompt you’d probably expect serious monologues of fans volunteering to be tribute or performing a heartfelt rendition of Taylor Swift’s Safe and Sound from the official movie soundtrack.
But just a quick scroll through the hashtags across social media and you’ll discover the casting has taken a much different turn.
Watch the video above to see some of the funniest fan auditions.
It seems the casting directors forgot to factor in Gen Z humour.
In just a few days, thousands of videos have been posted with a pattern emerging: many predominately Gen Z fans have taken a deeply unserious approach to their audition.
For those who haven’t read the book, some of the videos won’t make a whole lot of sense. But just trust us when we say, they’re hilarious.
Be warned: there’s some slight nonsensical spoilers below.
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Fans have done everything from pretending to be a tribute running from the cornucopia in the games to being a cleaner in the Hunger Games arena.
User eddancho on TikTok filmed themselves with a backdrop of trees acting out a hypothetical scene from the book involving squirrels – but with a twist.
The Hunger Games cast: Where are they now?
They spoke using the squeaky high voice of animated character, Alvin the Chipmunk.
The video, which has amassed 32,000 likes and counting, prompted someone in the comments to write in all caps: “I’m crying this is the most unserious generation ever.”
TikToker bongtylor also filmed with a forest in the background.
But rather than acting out a monologue, they simply strutted in a pair of high heels, dropping down to pose in front of the camera, before proceeding to cartwheel away.
Another fan auditioned as a non-talking role – specifically as President Snow’s bottle of milk in the fridge. Yep, you read that right.
Creator jwalkerbooks stood inside the fridge, holding said bottle of milk.
Nearly 400,000 people have viewed the 17-second-long video.
“I can be 2%, 1%, Skim, Whole whatever you need,” the TikToker pleaded.
”This is the first and last time they’ll be asking us to audition,” one person commented.
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Meanwhile, TikToker oyesebastien pretended to be a District 1 tribute meeting protagonist Haymitch in the movie, hilariously growling throughout the video.
Fans on social media have been pointing out how hilarious all the auditions are.
“I’m crying all these unserious hunger games audition videos on tiktok are so funny,” someone wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
Another person said they were “yet to see one serious audition video”, spotlighting one video they saw of someone acting out a Katniss monologue from The Hunger Games – Mockingjay Part 1, but in a Jennifer Coolidge voice.
While Lionsgate has made it clear the scene might not make the final movie cut, we still can’t wait to see which fan takes out the role.
May the odds be ever in your favour.
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