What We Know About The Hunger Games Movie

This article contains a discussion of addiction.

The really fascinating thing about the “Hunger Games” franchise — both the books written by Suzanne Collins and the film series that kicked off in 2012 — is that the world can keep expanding further and further without feeling like a cheap cash grab. What I mean by this is that whenever Collins pens a prequel about an early iteration of the titular Games, in which children from the 12 districts of Panem (a reconfigured North America) are chosen in pairs to fight for the death at the behest of the powerful Capital, it doesn’t feel like an unnecessary addition to the mythology. Instead, readers — and, eventually, filmgoers — get to learn more about every (disturbing) facet of Panem and its rich history. 

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In March of 2025, Collins released “Sunrise on the Reaping,” a long-awaited prequel to her original “Hunger Games” trilogy that centers around Haymitch Abernathy, a rare District 12 victor who was portrayed as a deeply troubled, traumatized older man by Woody Harrelson in the previous “Hunger Games” films. It’s likely not surprising that, before the book even hit shelves, a movie adaptation of “Sunrise on the Reaping” was announced. According to a press release obtained by /Film, Lionsgate’s chairman Adam Fogelson said this decision was, in essence, a no brainer: 

“Suzanne Collins is a master storyteller and our creative north star. We couldn’t be more fortunate than to be guided and trusted by a collaborator whose talent and imagination are so consistently brilliant. The Second Quarter Quell is legendary and looms large over the history of the Games, even into the time of Katniss Everdeen a quarter-century later.” 

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Fogelson is, of course, referring to Katniss Everdeen, the protagonist of the original “Hunger Games” movie trilogy (as played by Jennifer Lawrence). As for what the heck a “Second Quarter Quell” is, I’ll circle back to that pretty shortly. 

So, what do you need to know about “Sunrise on the Reaping” before it hits theaters?

As of this writing, “Sunrise on the Reaping” is set for a theatrical release on November 20, 2026 — and according to a report in Variety in April 2025, filming will begin in July 2025.

All in all, the timing of this release makes perfect sense. Again, the novel just dropped on March 18, 2025, so this gives fans of the franchise ample time to catch up … and it’s also perfectly in line with nearly all of the previous theatrical release windows for the “Hunger Games” film. The only outlier, which was helmed by director Gary Ross, was the first film (simply titled “The Hunger Games”), and that came out on March 23, 2012. Ever since then, though, the property has decided to stick to a November release.

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Indeed, the second-ever “Hunger Games” movie, subtitled “Catching Fire,” dropped on November 22, 2013, while the final installment — “Mockingjay” — was split into two parts and released nearly a full year apart on November 21, 2014 (for “Part 1”) and November 20, 2015 (for “Part 2”). There’s also another “Hunger Games” prequel that got a November release: “The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes,” which takes place decades before a young Haymitch ever even enters the arena (and which I will explain in just a bit). So, barring any unforeseen circumstances, it seems like “Sunrise on the Reaping” will continue the November tradition.

Let’s back up: What is the Second Quarter Quell, and what does it have to do with “Sunrise on the Reaping?” We already know that 24 children from 12 districts are “reaped” before each Games and chosen as “tributes,” knowing that there will only be one victor in the dangerous arena (not only are the tributes all trying to kill each other, but the arena is usually engineered to try to winnow them down too). The original trilogy begins with the 74th Hunger Games, and Haymitch’s Games happen to be the 50th go-round … which means they’re particularly messed-up.

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As we learn, “Quarter Quells” refer to the 25th, 50th, and 75th Games, and they all have a “special twist” meant to punish the districts even more (you know, as if murdering a random selection of their children wasn’t enough). We haven’t seen the 25th Games yet — although perhaps we will later down the line — but we do know that, during the First Quarter Quell, denizens from each district were forced to vote for their tributes instead of leaving it up to chance. The Third Quarter Quell is the major inciting incident for “Catching Fire,” where Katniss and her “lover” Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson) are forced back into the arena after forcing the Capitol’s hand and winning the 74th Games together, leading President Coriolanus Snow (the late Donald Sutherland) to decide that only previous victors can compete in the 75th Games.

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All of this is to say that the Second Quarter Quell reaps double the number of tributes, bringing it to 48. A young Haymitch Abernathy, living in District 12 and providing for his family, ends up drawn into the games without being reaped at all alongside three other District 12 kids: Maysilee Donner, Louella McCoy, and Wyatt Callow. While he prepares for the Games, Haymitch meets a former District 4 tribute, Beetee Latier — played by Jeffrey Wright in “Catching Fire” and “Mockingjay” — who’s being punished for insubordination by watching his own son compete in the Games, and Beetee tries to convince Haymitch to wreak havoc on the arena and destroy it from the inside. I won’t spoil the ending here, but all of this does spiral out of control — and, to make everything more unsettling, the book contains one of the most disturbing things to ever happen in the entire “Hunger Games” franchise.

At the end of April 2025, we learned that Joseph Zada, a young actor known for projects like “Total Control” and “Invisible Boys,” will star as the young Haymitch Abernathy, putting chatters and fan-casting to rest. That same day, Whitney Peak, whom you may remember from the short-lived Max reboot of “Gossip Girl” (she played Upper East Side newcomer Zoya Lott), as well as a role in “The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina,” was confirmed to play Haymitch’s musically gifted District 12 girlfriend Lenore Dove.

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Mckenna Grace, whose stacked resume includes “The Haunting of Hill House,” “I, Tonya,” “The Handmaid’s Tale,” and a pair of “Ghostbusters” sequels, has also signed on to play Maysilee Donner — the rich District 12 tribute with a sharp tongue who ends up as Haymitch’s unexpected ally in the Games — while Jeffrey Wright’s original role as Beetee Latier is now being played by Kelvin Harrison Jr., whom you might recognize from “It Comes at Night,” “The Trial of the Chicago 7,” and “Cyrano.” Of course, one of the most exciting announcements centers around Plutarch Heavensbee, a Capitol official and Gamemaker played by the late, great Philip Seymour Hoffman in “Catching Fire” and “Mockingjay.” A younger Plutarch, who provides help to Haymitch before and after the Games for his own nefarious purposes, will be played in “Sunrise on the Reaping” by Jesse Plemons, a guy who can genuinely improve any movie or TV show. (Seriously — just check out any of his prior work, be it “Game Night,” “Killers of the Flower Moon,” or even his brief but impactful cameo in “Civil War.” He’s just always great.) Young Mags will be played by “Mystic Pizza” and “The Conjuring” star Lili Taylor, while the techno-genius Wiress (previously played by Amanda Plummer) will be portrayed by “Stranger Things” star, Maya Hawke.

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No other casting has been announced as of this writing, but there are still major roles to fill, including that of President Coriolanus Snow, who was previously played by both Donald Sutherland and Tom Blyth (in the previous “Hunger Games” prequel, “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes”). On top of that, there’s Caesar Flickerman, the announcer for the Games played in the original “Hunger Games” trilogy by Stanley Tucci (with Jason Schwartzman appearing as his predecessor Lucky Flickerman in “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes”).

It’s probably not that surprising that Francis Lawrence, who directed every “Hunger Games” film except for the first one — yes, including “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” — is coming back for “Sunrise on the Reaping.” Still, he has plenty of well-known, solid projects on his resumé that have nothing to do with Panem. Besides films in the “Hunger Games” franchise, Lawrence, who has no relation to Jennifer Lawrence, also helmed “Constantine,” “I Am Legend,” “Water for Elephants,” “Red Sparrow” (which also starred Jennifer Lawrence), “Slumberland,” and the Stephen King adaptation “The Long Walk.”

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Writer Billy Ray, who did work on the first “Hunger Games” movie as well as high-profile projects like “Captain Phillips,” “Richard Jewell,” and “Terminator: Dark Fate,” is returning to the franchise and teaming up with (director) Lawrence for the first time, while Suzanne Collins is also listed as a screenwriter on “Sunrise on the Reaping.” Nina Jacobson, who produced the original four “Hunger Games” movies as well as “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes,” is likewise set to return in that same capacity.

It’s Suzanne Collins’ book “Sunrise on the Reaping.” (At this point, that shouldn’t come as a surprise, right?) To say the book was a massive success is an understatement; according to The Hollywood Reporter, it sold 1.5 million copies in English in just one week of sales. In a statement provided to the outlet, Scholastic boasted, “”With more than 1.2 million copies sold in the U.S. alone, ‘Sunrise on the Reaping’ has sold twice as many copies its first week on sale domestically as ‘The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes’ in 2020 and three times as many copies as ‘Mockingjay’ in 2010.”

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Clearly, interest in the “Hunger Games” franchise isn’t waning, and as someone who pre-ordered this book months in advance, I can tell you with all certainty that it was well worth the wait. Again, when Collins adds a new “Hunger Games” book to her collection, it always feels purposeful and like it’s meant to expand the world even further, and “Sunrise on the Reaping” gives readers incredible insight into Haymitch, a man who’s struggling with a serious alcohol addiction when we meet him in “The Hunger Games.” (One particularly gutting detail? Despite being a bootlegger in District 12, Haymitch doesn’t drink alcohol before he enters the Games, but ultimately develops his addiction as he grapples with his trauma and the death of his entire family, the latter of which we learn about from Katniss.) “Sunrise on the Reaping” forms a perfect bridge between “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” and “The Hunger Games” by utilizing characters and families from both — it’s strongly suggested that Lenore Dove is descended from Lucy Gray Baird, a Covey girl with her own musical streak played in “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” by Rachel Zegler — and if you haven’t checked out the book yet, it’s an engrossing, disturbing, and gripping read that’s basically impossible to put down (so clear your schedule).

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If you or anyone you know needs help with addiction issues, help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA’s National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).

The novel might not officially have “Hunger Games” in its title, but the film adaptation will, making “The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping” an official part of this particular cinematic universe. I already mentioned that some characters we see later in the timeline in “Catching Fire” and “Mockingjay” return in “Sunrise on the Reaping,” including Caesar Flickerman, Coriolanus Snow, Plutarch Heavensbee, and Beetee Latier, but they’re not the only ones. We’ll also reunite with Mags, a former District 4 victor who only appears in “Catching Fire” and is played by the late Lynn Cohen — who works as a mentor like Beetee in the Second Quarter Quell — as well as Wiress (portrayed in “Catching Fire” by Amanda Plummer), who won the 49th Games by utilizing the arena’s bizarre reflective surfaces and simply outlasting everybody else. Plus, Katniss and Peeta’s future District 12 stylist Effie Trinket, played in the previous movies by Elizabeth Banks, even manages to show up and play a small yet pivotal role in Haymitch’s story.

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The way Collins seamlessly weaves “Sunrise on the Reaping” into the larger timeline she’s created for “The Hunger Games” is honestly really impressive — readers picking up the book were definitely surprised to see Beetee, Wiress, and Mags reappear in particular, and the reasons for their inclusion actually make a ton of sense within the universe — so, in case I haven’t been clear, it’s a worthy addition to the canon. Plus, there are a lot of Games we haven’t seen. Maybe Collins will ultimately provide Mags or Wiress’ entire story, give us an even closer look at Beetee, or even focus on other victors we meet during “Catching Fire” like Finnick Odair and Johanna Mason (as previously played onscreen by Sam Claflin and Jena Malone, respectively). This definitely isn’t always the case for major YA properties (remember how nobody really liked “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child?”), but the sky seems to be the limit for Collins’ canon.

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If you haven’t read any of the “Hunger Games” books by the time you’re reading this, I really encourage you to do so; Suzanne Collins might technically be writing these for a young adult audience, but they’re every bit as thrilling and involved as a book “written” for “adults.” If you want the full narrative, add “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” to your TBR (or “to be read”) list, and when it comes to the order, you have two simple options. If you want a chronological representation of Panem’s story, start with “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes,” move on to “Sunrise on the Reaping,” and then read the original trilogy (although, if you do it this way, it might not hit as hard to realize precisely why President Snow hates strong-willed District 12 girls like Katniss Everdeen). If you want to read them in release order, start with the trilogy, stick “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” smack in the middle, and then turn to the original trilogy.

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As far as the movies go, both of these proposed watch orders apply to those too. If you’re brand new to the world of Panem (lucky), there’s not really a wrong way to approach this franchise, per se — but the bottom line is that you’ll want to be ready for the film adaptation of “Sunrise on the Reaping” when it comes out in November 2026.