The Hunger Games universe is back, this time digging into the dark past of Haymitch Abernathy.
Lionsgate has released the first trailer for the new prequel Sunrise on the Reaping, and judging by the atmosphere, we’re heading straight into the most brutal chapter in Panem’s history: the 50th Hunger Games – the Second Quarter Quell.
The trailer immediately ties the viewer to the fate of a young Haymitch Abernathy.
The character made legendary by Woody Harrelson in the original series is played here by Joseph Zada, yet Harrelson still makes an unexpected cameo with a brief voice-over that feels like a wink to the entire universe.
Haymitch: A Victim of Fate and a Choice Worse Than Death
One of the trailer’s most shocking moments is the bloody reaping scene in District 12.
When one of the selected children tries to flee and is shot dead, Capitol officials drag Haymitch onto the stage without hesitation – even though his name was never called.
This is a forced inclusion unprecedented in Hunger Games history, and it serves as the trailer’s sharpest turning point.
Once Haymitch is sent to the Capitol, his world changes forever.
On one side is his District 12 girlfriend Lenore Dove (Whitney Peak); on the other, the cold reality of the Arena where he must face death.
District 12’s Dark Quartet
The film also focuses on the fragile but life-or-death bond Haymitch forms with his three fellow District 12 tributes:
- Maysilee Donner – McKenna Grace
- Wyatt Callow – Ben Wang
- Louella McCoy – Molly McCann
The survival story of this quartet delivers the trailer’s highest-tension sequences.
Under the Capitol’s Shadow: Heavensbee and Snow
The power structure of Panem is powerfully present:
- Jesse Plemons brings a pitch-black energy as the young Plutarch Heavensbee.
- Ralph Fiennes steps back into President Snow’s icy authority with a performance sharp enough to rival Donald Sutherland’s legacy.
The Horror of the Second Quarter Quell
For this “celebratory” year, the number of tributes is doubled: not 24, but 48.
It becomes one of the deadliest arenas in Panem’s history.
Book readers know the single detail (and for many, still the most traumatic scene) that will decide the emotional breaking point of the story. How the film handles that moment is now the biggest question mark.
Release Date
Sunrise on the Reaping
hits cinemas on 20 November 2026.
The Hunger Games universe, for the first time through Haymitch’s eyes…
It looks like a return strong enough to rewrite Panem’s dark history all over again.
