This is not a drill — a new Hunger Games movie is coming out soon. Based on Suzanne Collins’s bestselling 2025 novel Sunrise On The Reaping, the film adaptation is coming to theaters. Hunger Games: Sunrise On The Reaping will explore the dystopian world of Panem 24 years before events of The Hunger Games we all know and love. It’ll start on the morning of the reaping of the 50th Hunger Games (AKA the Second Quarter Quell), following Haymitch Abernathy’s experience. And now, the first Sunrise On The Reaping trailer is here.
Ever since the release of the first Hunger Games movie in 2012, the franchise has achieved tremendous success over the years, and broke records worldwide for its strong performances and dystopian themes and storyline. The Hunger Games’s most recent release was in 2023, with The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, which followed President Coriolanus Snow and his rise to power.Â
Whether you read the entire Hunger Games trilogy as a teen or are obsessed with the film’s dystopia, here’s all the information you need about Hunger Games: Sunrise On The Reaping.
Hunger Games: Sunrise On The Reaping Trailer
On Nov. 20, the first teaser for Hunger Games: Sunrise On The Reaping was released. In it, viewers see Drusilla Sickle (played by Glenn Close) outside the Hall of Justice, welcoming Panem to the reaping of District 12. We then get a look at the tributes chosen for the reaping as she says, “Twice the number of tributes, twice the glory. It’s time for the second Quarter Quell.” A timer counts down as viewers see the tributes readying themselves. Drusilla announces, “Let the 50th Hunger Games begin!” We then see a montage of tributes in the Games, including Haymitch (played by Joseph Zada) and Lenore Dove Baird (played by Whitney Peak). At the end of the trailer, Haymitch says, “I think these Games are gonna be different.”
Hunger Games: Sunrise On The Reaping Cast
Many actors have been confirmed for the lead roles of Hunger Games: Sunrise On The Reaping. The week of May 20, Elle Fanning (A Complete Unknown) was confirmed to be taking on the role of a young Effie Trinket, and it was announced Kieran Culkin (A Real Pain) will play Caesar Flickerman, host of the Hunger Games. Previously, on May 16, The Hollywood Reporter confirmed Ralph Fiennes (Conclave) would portray President Snow in the prequel. (He’s also seen in the trailer.) The iconic role of President Coriolanus Snow was first portrayed by the late Donald Sutherland in the original Hunger Games movies. Producer Nina Jacobson told the publication, “We wanted to honor Donald Sutherland by having one of this generation’s greatest actors play President Snow 24 years before Katniss Everdeen entered the arena.”
Two days before Fiennes’s announcement, it was confirmed that Maya Hawke (Stranger Things) will play Wiress, the District 12 mentor who was a champion of the Hunger Games herself.
Zada, known for his roles in We Were Liars and East of Eden, plays young Haymitch Abernathy — a tribute from District 12 and the only living Hunger Games victor before Katniss and Peeta. Peak, known for her roles in Hocus Pocus 2 and the Gossip Girl reboot, will play Lenore Dove Baird, Haymitch’s girlfriend. And McKenna Grace, known for her roles in Ghostbusters, Young Sheldon, and The Handmaid’s Tale will play Maysilee Donner, one of the female tributes from District 12.
Hunger Games: Sunrise On The Reaping Release DateÂ
To fans’ luck, the official release date for the prequel was already announced. Hunger Games: Sunrise On The Reaping will be in theaters worldwide on Nov. 20, 2026. Even though we’ll have to wait a while before the film’s release, we can now officially count down the days to see it on the big screen.Â