On Nov. 20, I was stopped in my tracks when scrolling through my Instagram feed — there was a new post from the official account for “The Hunger Games.” Lo and behold, to my delight, it was the first teaser trailer for the newest film in the franchise, “The Hunger Games: Sunrise On The Reaping,” based on the book of the same name, released in March 2025.
I have been waiting for this movie since the second the new book was announced by Suzanne Collins. After being a die-hard fan of “The Hunger Games” from the age of 12, then patiently awaiting this release, I was absorbed in the new book. Imagine my excitement when I saw the film adaptation had already been greenlit and was in production with the announcement of the book.
I have a very unpopular opinion that some people will want to fight me on, but sometimes the movie is better than the book, and “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire” is an example of this. When I say that movie changed lives, I am specifically referring to myself.
With the announcement of the film being in production, the fans got to experience the casting process in real time, with each character being announced randomly with a short video on Instagram. The casting directors did not miss the mark with the casting for this film. The first role of the film to be announced was Whitney Peak as Lenore Dove. Peak is best known for her work in the HBO “Gossip Girl” reboot and “Hocus Pocus 2.” Joining the cast of new characters is famed former child actress Mckenna Grace. Grace recently was in Colleen Hoover’s “Regretting You,” and she will be in “Five Nights at Freddy’s 2,” set to release in December.
The casting team really showed their talent with their choices for the younger versions of existing characters in the franchise. Australian actor Joseph Zada will be playing the younger version of Haymitch Abernathy, the protagonist of the book. Zada will be taking the role from Woody Harrelson, who played the role in the original trilogy. Elle Fanning will be taking the role of young Effie Trinket from Elizabeth Banks in the original. Academy Award Winner Kiernan Culkin will be portraying a young Caesar Flickerman, the television host of the Hunger Games. He will be taking over the role from Stanley Tucci, one of my favorite actors.
Jesse Plemons will be taking over for the late Philip Seymour Hoffman in the role of Plutarch Heavensbee. Finally, following Tom Blyth portraying a young President Snow in “The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes,” and the late Donald Sutherland portraying elderly Snow in the trilogy, Ralph Fiennes will be playing middle-aged President Snow. Fiennes, famous for playing Lord Voldemort in the “Harry Potter” series, has a history of portraying villains. After hearing the casting of these iconic characters, I could not control myself. I know that my heart as a dedicated fan of “The Hunger Games” is in good hands with this cast.
Watching the first teaser trailer, I literally got chills. The colors, the costumes and the setting all looked exactly as I imagined. It is a stark contrast to the setting we have seen in previous films in “The Hunger Games” series, with a brighter and more vivid tone, compared to the darker and moodier setting of the original trilogy. The teaser also ended with a voice snippet from Harrelson saying, “I think these games are going to be different.” This clues viewers in to the fact that this will be unlike any Hunger Games they have ever seen before. I am already so excited just from the small teaser, I cannot wait to see the snippets and clips we will get with the additional trailers. Unfortunately, we still have another year until the film is released on Nov. 20, 2026, but I am already seated.