The NEW Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping Trailer Is Here!

Welcome back to the Capitol! Young Haymitch, the Second Quarter Quell, and a cast list that’s genuinely stacked. The new Hunger Games trailer is here.

I was all in on the original Hunger Games books and movies. So when Suzanne Collins published Sunrise on the Reaping, I read it immediately. It’s so good. And it will make you look at Haymitch a little differently the next time you rewatch the original films.

The newest trailer just dropped. I’ve watched it a few times. Here’s where I am.

Quick context if you need it

Sunrise on the Reaping takes place 24 years before Katniss Everdeen ever volunteers as tribute — during the 50th Hunger Games, also known as the Second Quarter Quell. The Capitol’s rule for this particular anniversary: double the tributes. Four kids from every district instead of two. The story follows a young Haymitch Abernathy, one of those four from District 12, and the events that shape him into the person we eventually meet in the original films. Francis Lawrence is back directing, which is encouraging — he’s been at the helm since Catching Fire, and he clearly understands this world.

About that cast

Joseph Zada (We Were Liars) leads as young Haymitch, stepping into the role made iconic by Woody Harrelson. McKenna Grace (Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire) plays Maysilee Donner, another District 12 tribute. Whitney Peak (the remake of Gossip Girl) is Lenore Dove Baird — Haymitch’s girlfriend and a descendant of Lucy Gray Baird from Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.

And then: Elle Fanning (Margo’s Got Money Troubles) as a young Effie Trinket. Kieran Culkin (Succession) — yes, Roman Roy himself — as Caesar Flickerman, the Capitol’s smarmy TV host, which is honestly perfect casting. Jesse Plemons (I will always reference Friday Night Lights, but to keep it current, Bugonia) as a young Plutarch Heavensbee. Maya Hawke (Stranger Things) as Wiress. Kelvin Harrison Jr. (O’Dessa) as Beetee. Glenn Close (Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery) as Drusilla Sickle, the District 12 escort. Billy Porter (Pose) as her estranged husband. Ralph Fiennes (Conclave) as President Snow.

That’s a lot of star power.

One more thing: Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson are reportedly back for an epilogue scene. The book has one. I’ll leave it at that.

Watch the trailer

The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping opens in theaters November 20, 2026. November feels so far away!