The latest installment of the hit franchise hits theaters Nov. 20, 2026.

Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping trailer teases first look at Panem’s deadliest contest, Haymitch’s origin story

The latest installment of the hit franchise hits theaters Nov. 20, 2026.

By Mekishana Pierre

Mekishana Pierre

Mekishana Pierre is a news writer at **. She has been working at EW since 2025. Her work has previously appeared on *Entertainment Tonight* and Popsugar.

EW's editorial guidelines

November 20, 2025 10:11 a.m. ET

Joseph Zada as Haymitch Abernathy and McKenna Grace as Maysilee Donner in 'The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping'. Credit:

Murray Close/Lionsgate

Let the 50th Hunger Games begin!**

Fans are getting a first proper look at the latest adaptation from Suzanne Collins' hit *Hunger Games* book franchise, *Sunrise on the Reaping, *an entire year before the film hits theaters.**

A prequel set 24 years before the events of *The Hunger Games*, the movie revisits the world of Panem on the morning of the reaping of the 50th Hunger Games, also known as the Second Quarter Quell — one of the deadliest games in Panem's history.

The trailer opens up with the reaping of district 12 on a morning that will forever change the life of a young Haymitch Abernathy, played by Joseph Zada.

Joseph Zada as Haymitch Abernathy in 'The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping'.

Murray Close/Lionsgate

As the trailer teases, *Sunrise on the Reaping* will tell the horrific origin story of the beloved, curmudgeonly alcoholic who served as a reluctant mentor to Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) and Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson) in the franchise's first four films.

Although a 16-year-old Haymitch managed to evade selection on reaping day, he is reaped in a rigged process after he tries to protect his love, Lenore Dove (Whitney Peak) — a Covey and descendant of none other than *The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes*' Lucy Gray Baird — from Peacekeepers after chaos ensues in the wake of another District 12 boy's execution. Haymitch, played by Woody Harrelson in earlier *Hunger Games* films, went on to famously win the Quarter Quell, which boasted twice the number of tributes: 48, with two boys and two girls from each district.

Alongside Zada, the star-studded cast includes Peak, Mckenna Grace, Jesse Plemons, Kelvin Harrison Jr., Maya Hawke, Lili Taylor, Ben Wang, Edvin Ryding, Elle Fanning, Kieran Culkin, Glenn Close, Billy Porter, and Iris Apatow. Ralph Fiennes steps into the role of President Snow.

Francis Lawrence — who helmed four of the five *Hunger Games* films, including the recent prequel *The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, *about a teenage Snow — will direct the Lionsgate movie from a screenplay adaptation by Billy Ray. Color Force's Nina Jacobson and Brad Simpson will produce. Cameron MacConomy will executive-produce.

Whitney Peak as Lenore Dove Baird and Joseph Zada as Haymitch Abernathy in 'The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping'.

Murray Close/Lionsgate

The movie and book versions of *Sunrise on the Reaping* were announced at the same time.

"With *Sunrise on the Reaping*, I was inspired by David Hume's idea of implicit submission and, in his words, 'the easiness with which the many are governed by the few,'" Collins said in a statement at the time. "The story also lent itself to a deeper dive into the use of propaganda and the power of those who control the narrative. The question 'Real or not real?' seems more pressing to me every day."

'Sunrise on the Reaping' cast and character guide: Meet the stars rounding out Haymitch's origin story

All the beloved 'Hunger Games' characters who appear in 'Sunrise on the Reaping' prequel

The book sold 1.5 million copies in its first week on sale in the U.S., U.K., Ireland, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.

The film will be the sixth big-screen *Hunger Games* adaptation.

***Get your daily dose of entertainment news, celebrity updates, and what to watch with our EW Dispatch newsletter.***

*The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping* lands in theaters on Nov. 20, 2026. Watch the trailer above.**

Original Article on Source

Source: “EW Movies”