Fans of The Hunger Games franchise received their first real glimpse into one of Panem’s most defining chapters as Lionsgate unveiled the debut trailer for Sunrise on the Reaping. The highly anticipated film serves as a prequel set twenty four years before the events of the original movie and centers on a young Haymitch Abernathy, a character portrayed by Woody Harrelson in the early films. In this new story, Haymitch is played by Joseph Zada, marking the character’s evolution as he enters the arena that would shape his future.
The film opens on the morning of the reaping for the Fiftieth Hunger Games, also known as the Second Quarter Quell, a tournament remembered as one of the most brutal in Capitol history. The trailer reveals a gritty visual style with a striking seventies inspired design that sets this chapter apart from previous entries in the franchise.
Francis Lawrence returns to direct, extending his long collaboration with author Suzanne Collins. The movie was developed alongside Collins’ 2025 novel, ensuring close creative alignment between page and screen. Lawrence previously guided several of the series’ most acclaimed films, including Catching Fire and both Mockingjay installments.
The cast brings together an impressive lineup. Elle Fanning appears as a young Effie Trinket, Jesse Plemons takes on the role of Plutarch Heavensbee, and Ralph Fiennes steps into the character of President Snow. Glenn Close, almost unrecognizable in a bold new transformation, portrays Drusilla Sickle, an influential Capitol figure tied to the reaping. Additional roles are filled by Mckenna Grace, Maya Hawke, Kelvin Harrison Jr., Whitney Peak and Kieran Culkin.
With an established creative team and a story anchored in one of the most dramatic chapters of Panem’s history, Sunrise on the Reaping is positioned to extend the franchise’s legacy of thought provoking world building. The film arrives exclusively in theaters on November 20, 2026.
