Lionsgate has brought the world of Panem roaring back to life with the first trailer for The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping, offering a gripping glimpse into one of the darkest chapters in the franchise’s history. Set for a theatrical release on November 20, 2026, the film adapts Suzanne Collins’ 2025 novel and returns audiences to a Panem still reshaped by fear, control and the Capitol’s hunger for spectacle. The trailer sets an ominous tone, framing the 50th Hunger Games as a turning point in the mythology — a brutal event that reshaped the Games and the people who survived them.
The story unfolds 24 years before Katniss Everdeen’s rebellion, centering on a young Haymitch Abernathy, played by Joseph Zada. Long before he became District 12’s gruff but clever mentor, Haymitch was himself a tribute, thrust into an arena designed for chaos. Because the 50th Hunger Games marks the second Quarter Quell — a special edition that occurs every 25 years — each district is forced to send twice the number of tributes. It is a chilling rule meant to heighten the Capitol’s entertainment and tighten its control, resulting in 48 children being forced into a fight to the death. The trailer hints at Haymitch’s transformation from an overwhelmed teenager into a strategic survivor, a journey that would define the man he later becomes.
What emerges from this first look is a visual world positioned between the raw brutality of The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes and the polished oppression of the original trilogy. The early Capitol is shown with a mix of grandeur and menace, while the arena sequences pulse with disorder, scale and unpredictable danger. Joseph Zada’s portrayal of Haymitch carries a sharp emotional edge, capturing the vulnerability and fierce intelligence that fans have only glimpsed through Woody Harrelson’s older interpretation. Though the full cast has not yet been revealed, the trailer signals a film driven by character, world-building and the political undercurrents that have long defined the franchise.
The project holds a unique place in the Hunger Games timeline, bridging two narrative eras and deepening the lore around the Quarter Quells, the Capitol’s evolving manipulation tactics and the early seeds of district unrest. For longtime fans, this prequel fills in one of Panem’s most important backstories: how Haymitch Abernathy became the only living victor from District 12 before Katniss and how his haunting experience shaped his cynicism, brilliance and approach to rebellion. With expectations already running high, the trailer positions Sunrise on the Reaping as both a return to the franchise’s emotional complexity and a potential launchpad for Lionsgate’s renewed long-term plans for Panem.
As anticipation builds, The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping stands poised to re-energize the franchise with a story that is both brutally intimate and epic in scope. Its November 2026 release marks the beginning of a new chapter in a world audiences have never truly left — a world where power, survival and defiance remain at the heart of the cinematic experience.
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