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We got another trailer for 'The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping.' Here's everything we know about the film.

We got another trailer for 'The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping.' Here's everything we know about the film.

The cast for the adaptation of Suzanne Collins' "Sunrise on the Reaping" is stacked with actors like Ralph Fiennes, Elle Fanning, and Jesse Plemons.

Curly-haired traveler with a backpack stands in a misty forest among red flowers and sunlit trees.
"The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping" will premiere in November 2026.
  • Suzanne Collins' "Sunrise on the Reaping," published in 2025, is a prequel to "The Hunger Games."
  • It's being adapted into a film, following Haymitch's experience as a tribute for District 12.
  • Lionsgate released a new trailer for the movie showing Haymitch facing off against President Snow.

A new dawn is rising in "The Hunger Games" universe (literally).

"The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping" is set to hit theaters on November 20, taking fans back into the world of Panem. This time, they will see it through the eyes of a young Haymitch Abernathy as he competes as a District 12 tribute 24 years before the events of Suzanne Collins' original trilogy.

Fans have been eagerly awaiting the film since it was first announced in 2024, before the novel it is based on was even published. A new trailer released on Wednesday offers a glimpse into the high-stakes world Haymitch finds himself in when he is taken to the Capitol, from a dramatic tribute parade to a stand-off with President Snow.

Here's everything we know about the movie so far.

Some spoilers ahead for "Sunrise on the Reaping."

'Sunrise on the Reaping,' the 6th 'Hunger Games' movie, will hit theaters in November 2026

"Sunrise on the Reaping" was published in March 2025, and it is the second prequel to Collins' immensely popular dystopian series, following the 2020 release of "The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes." Like "Ballad," the latest installment reveals key lore about the world of Panem, while staying true to the heart of Collins' original works.

Lionsgate announced it would turn the story into a feature film following the success of the "Ballad" adaptation, in conjunction with the novel's announcement in June 2024.

"Sunrise on the Reaping" by Suzanne Collins.
"Sunrise on the Reaping" by Suzanne Collins.

At the time, Deadline reported that the film, "The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping," would be released on November 20, 2026.

Francis Lawrence, the filmmaker who helmed every movie in the series except the 2012 original, directed the movie from a script adapted by Billy Ray.

Nina Jacobson and her producing partner, Brad Simpson, returned to produce the prequel under their Color Force banner. Jacobson told Variety in March 2025 that her team already had "a great draft" of the script and set filming locations before the book was even released.

Filming started in the summer of 2025

"Sunrise on the Reaping" has a massive cast, largely because Haymitch is reaped into the second Quarter Quell. The 50th Hunger Games has twice as many tributes competing, meaning 48 children from the districts are sent to the arena instead of 24.

In addition, the novel introduces readers to characters in District 12 with connections to the other books in the series and features appearances by "Hunger Games" favorites such as Effie Trinket and Plutarch Heavensbee.

Lionsgate revealed the film's cast on social media, showing snippets of the characters' introductions in the novel as they burst into flame, revealing the actors portraying them.

The 'Sunrise on the Reaping' cast includes:

  • Haymitch Abernathy: Joseph Zada
  • Lenore Dove Baird: Whitney Peak
  • President Snow: Ralph Fiennes
  • Effie Trinket: Elle Fanning
  • Caesar Flickerman: Kieran Culkin
  • Plutarch Heavensbee: Jesse Plemons
  • Beetee Latier: Kelvin Harrison Jr.
  • Wiress: Maya Hawke
  • Mags Flanagan: Lili Taylor
  • Maysilee Donner: Mckenna Grace
  • Wyatt Callow: Ben Wang
  • Louella McCoy: Molly McCann
  • Lou Lou: Iona Bell
  • Magno Stift: Billy Porter
  • Drusilla Sickle: Glenn Close
  • Panache: Jhaleil Swaby
  • Ampert: Percy Daggs IV
  • Silka: Laura Marcus
  • Wellie: Rada Rae
  • Maritte: Sky Frances
  • Clayton: Salimou Thiam
  • Ringina: Tatyana Muzondo
  • Buck: John Doeble
  • Kerna: Alina Reid
  • Hull: Kaine Buffonge
  • Willamae: Kara Tointon
  • Sid: Smylie Bradwell
  • Clerk Carmine: Jeffrey Hallman
  • Woodbine: Serafin Mishiev

The film's star, Zada, is a relative newcomer with a handful of roles to his name. In March 2025, Jacobson told Variety her team was looking for an actor who could bring the same "mischief" Woody Harrelson brought to the role in the original trilogy without "impersonating" him.

Curly-haired person in a white jacket looks upward near futuristic spires against a mountainous landscape.
Joseph Zada stars as Haymitch Abernathy.

"You want somebody who very credibly feels like they could be a young version of this character, before the trauma and grief and rage that the fallout of the Games create," Jacobson said. "Nobody can be Woody Harrelson, but Woody Harrelson."

Of the roles announced, Fiennes' and Fanning's castings arguably generated the most buzz.

Fiennes, who is no stranger to film franchises after playing Voldemort in the "Harry Potter" films, will be offering the third cinematic iteration of President Coriolanus Snow.

Ralph Fiennes as Coriolanus Snow stands in a red coat before blurred guards and monumental walls.
Ralph Fiennes is picking up the mantle as President Snow.

Donald Sutherland originated the role of the aging villain in the three original "Hunger Games" films, and fans saw Tom Blyth's portrayal of Snow as a young man in the first prequel. Snow is the primary antagonist in "Sunrise on the Reaping," as he is in the original trilogy, and he makes some chilling appearances in the novel.

Elizabeth Banks played Effie Trinket, Katniss and Peeta's handler from the Capitol, in the original "Hunger Games" trilogy, and the character appears as a young stylist in "Sunrise on the Reaping." Fans were eager to see who would step into Banks' shoes because her performance was so beloved in the films, and Fanning's casting was met with overwhelming excitement.

Costumed group stands indoors as Elle Fanning as Effie Trinket with a decorative headpiece gestures toward the camera.
Elle Fanning will play Effie Trinket.

Plemons will take over the role of Plutarch for Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Jeffrey Wright played Beetee Latier before Kelvin Harrison Jr. Interestingly, both Plemons and Harrison previously played Hoffman's and Wright's children in other projects. Plemons was Hoffman's son in the 2012 film "The Master," and Harrison was Wright's son in "Monster," released in 2018.

Lawrence announced that filming for the project was set to begin in July 2025 at CinemaCon in April 2025, and Zada and Grace were spotted together in Spain that month.

Lionsgate released the most enlightening trailer for the movie yet in September 2026

On November 20, 2025, Lionsgate shared an official teaser trailer for the film to celebrate one year until its release.

It gave viewers a glimpse of the arena for the 50th Hunger Games, showing Zada as Haymitch standing on a podium alongside his fellow tributes in a picturesque, hilly countryside.

Importantly, the teaser showed Lenore Dove giving Haymitch a striker with a bird on one end and a snake on the other. The striker plays an important role in the book, was illustrated on the book's cover, and was unveiled as the official logo for the film in a teaser clip released in April 2025, making its appearance exciting for fans of the text.

Both the teaser trailer and teaser clip ended with Harrelson's voice saying, "I think these games are gonna be different."

In December 2025, The Hollywood Reporter confirmed that Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson would be reprising their roles as Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark in "Sunrise on the Reaping," though the outlet didn't say whether Harrelson would return alongside them or how they would appear in the film. In the "Sunrise on the Reaping" book, Katniss and Peeta appear in the epilogue, which flashes forward to Haymitch's life after the events of "Mockingjay."

On April 13, 2026, Lionsgate released the first full-length trailer for the film. It offered a more comprehensive look at the film's plot, focusing on Haymitch's reaping and his time at the Capitol before the Hunger Games actually begin.

Clips of some of the book's biggest moments appeared in the trailer, including a chariot crash during the parade of tributes, Haymitch's live TV interview before he enters the arena, and a private conversation between Haymitch and President Snow.

The trailer is also stacked with appearances from the star-studded cast. It features Kieran Culkin as Caesar Flickerman, the role Stanley Tucci played in the original trilogy, and Maya Hawke as a younger, less traumatized version of Wiress, an ally to Katniss in the 75th Quarter Quell and a mentor to Haymitch in the 50th.

Hawke as Wiress offers one of the most chilling lines in the trailer: "The arena, it's a killing machine. But all machines can be broken."

Lionsgate also released a video introducing Haymitch to viewers on July 4, which is both Reaping Day in the "Hunger Games" universe and Haymitch's birthday. It includes clips from the movie, as well as commentary from Lawrence, Jacobson, and Zada on Haymitch as a character.

Finally, the studio shared a second full-length trailer for the movie on September 16, a little over two months before the film's premiere. "Witness the beginning of a revolution," the official "The Hunger Games" Instagram account captioned the trailer.

The trailer gives a closer look at Haymitch's experience in the Capitol and the arena after he is reaped for the Games, showing glimpses of his disastrous tribute parade and his work to dismantle the arena from the inside as he competes.

It also tees up his conflict with President Snow more directly than the other trailers. In one clip, Haymitch looks directly at Snow and claps in a silent stadium, the lone voice of dissent as Capitol loyalists look on in horror at this small act of rebellion (and, in Plutarch Heavensbee's case, in awe).

Alongside the trailer, Lionsgate also released two posters for the film, coining the slogan, "Challenge authority. Capitalize power."

Split promotional poster for "The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping" shows opposing groups beneath smoky skies.
Lionsgate released two posters for the film.

The tributes from District 12 pose under "challenge authority," while people from the Capitol, like Snow and Heavensbee, are on the "capitalize" poster.

Read the original article on Business Insider