Lionsgate unveiled the first “Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping” trailer on Thursday morning, offering our first look at the story of young Haymitch Abernathy, played by Woody Harrelson in the original trilogy.
Joseph Zada (“We Were Liars”) plays Haymitch in the new film, which takes place 24 years before the events of the first “Hunger Games” movie. That means we get young versions of several characters from the first films, including Elle Fanning as Effie Trinket, Jesse Plemons as Plutarch Heavesnbee and Ralph Fiennes as President Snow.
The trailer teases a wonderful 1970s-esque aesthetic to the entire proceeding, which follows the events of the 50th Hunger Games, also known as the Second Quarter Quell — an especially deadly event.
Francis Lawrence returns to direct “Sunrise on the Reaping” based on the novel of the same name by Suzanne Collins, which was published in 2025. Lawrence has now directed five of these films — he finished out the original trilogy with “Catching Fire” and the two “Mockingjay” movies, then steered the first prequel, 2020’s “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.” Nearly all of them have been embraced by fans and critics alike.
Development on “Sunrise on the Reaping,” which boasts a screenplay by Billy Ray, began concurrently with Collins’ book — the movie and the book were announced at the same time. The franchise has been good to both Collins and Lionsgate, and with Lawrence back at the helm, there’s a good chance this will turn out to be just as compelling, thoughtful and unique as the other films.
The ensemble cast also includes Glenn Close as Drusilla Sickle, Kieran Culkin as Caesar Flickerman, Mckenna Grace as Maysilee Donner, Maya Hawke as Wiress, and Kelvin Harrison Jr. as Beetee.
Producers are Nina Jacobson, Brad Simpson and Francis Lawrence.
“The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping” opens exclusively in theaters on Nov. 20, 2026.
