Lionsgate released a new trailer Wednesday for The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping, with Joseph Zada playing a young Haymitch Abernathy. The film opens November 20, 2026.
The story is set 24 years before the events of The Hunger Games, following Haymitch during the 50th Games, also known as the Second Quarter Quell. According to The Wrap, the trailer shows Haymitch forming an alliance with fellow tribute Maysilee Donner and joining a coalition determined to challenge the Capitol under President Snow.
Francis Lawrence returns to direct, having led the franchise since Catching Fire. The screenplay is by Billy Ray and Michael Lesslie, adapted from Suzanne Collins's 2025 novel. Producers are Nina Jacobson, Brad Simpson, and Lawrence.
The ensemble goes well beyond the arena floor. Alongside Zada, the cast includes Jesse Plemons, Elle Fanning, Kieran Culkin, Mckenna Grace, Whitney Peak, Maya Hawke, Kelvin Harrison Jr., Ralph Fiennes, and Glenn Close. The scale suggests the Capitol side of the story will carry equal weight.
The film arrives in a dense fall window, a week before Thanksgiving. It is the franchise's first entry built entirely around a character audiences already know survives.