Everything You Need to Know About 'The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping': Plot, Cast & More
The movie is the second prequel in the series that depicts the legendary 50s Hunger Games, also known as the Second Quarter Quell.
If you thought the Hunger Games universe had been fully explored after The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes, think again. The new movie, Sunrise on the Reaping, will take viewers back to Panem's past, even further from Katniss' story.
This time, the story will focus on a familiar character: the sarcastic mentor Haymitch Abernathy. However, viewers will see him as a very different person – a sixteen-year-old boy who has yet to enter the arena.
When Will 'The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping' Be Released?
The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping is scheduled to premiere on November 20, 2026.
What Will 'The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping' Be About?
The story takes place 24 years before the events of the original trilogy. The story centers on 16-year-old Haymitch from District 12. On Reaping Day, he is selected as a tribute to compete in the 50th Hunger Games, a special edition of the competition.
To honor the anniversary of the competition, the rules are changed to double the number of participants. Now, each district selects four tributes – two girls and two boys – for a total of 48 teenagers.
The stakes are higher than usual, meaning there are more alliances and betrayals, and a much smaller chance of survival.
For impoverished District 12, this is practically a death sentence – the last time a winner came from there was forty years ago. Haymitch knows his chances of survival are slim, yet he finds himself caught up in a cruel game where his life and his humanity are on the line.
Joining him in the arena is Maysilee Donner, another tribute from District 12. She is a friend of Asterid March, Katniss' future mother, and the original owner of the famous Mockingjay brooch, which would later become a symbol of the revolution.
Who Is in the Cast of 'The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping'?
Joseph Zada will play the lead role of the young Haymitch and Mckenna Grace will portray Maysilee, a tribute from District 12 who owned the Mockingjay brooch.
Jesse Plemons will play the young Plutarch Heavensbee. In the prequel, Heavensbee is only 21 years old and is not yet an influential Capitol strategist – he is merely a common operator of the Reaping ceremony in District 12.
Maya Hawke will play Wiress, the victor of the 49th Hunger Games and mentor to the tributes. Ralph Fiennes will play the young Coriolanus Snow, who will become the President of Panem and already holds a prominent position in the Capitol's power structure.
Elle Fanning will play a young Effie Trinket. In the prequel, she is not yet a chaperone for the tributes but rather a recent college graduate filling in temporarily for District 12's stylist. Kieran Culkin will portray a young Caesar Flickerman who is just beginning his career as the host of the Hunger Games.
Glenn Close plays Drusilla Sickle, a chaperone for the District 12 tributes known for her cold and dismissive attitude toward the participants.
