'Hunger Games' returns: Sunrise on the reaping is coming

Panem is calling again – and this time, it’s getting even darker.

Lionsgate is officially bringing Sunrise on the Reaping to the big screen, diving into the brutal backstory of a young Haymitch Abernathy – long before he became everyone’s favourite sarcastic, mentor.

Set to hit theaters on November 20, 2026, the film rewinds the clock to the Second Quarter Quell, where twice the number of tributes means double the chaos (and heartbreak). 

If you thought the original games were intense… this one’s not here to play nice.

The first teaser already teased that shift. Sweeping green arenas, nervous tributes circling the Cornucopia – and then that voice: “I think these games are gonna be different.”

Yes, that’s Woody Harrelson, tying the past to the future in true Hunger Games fashion.

Newcomer Joseph Zada steps into Haymitch’s shoes, joined by Whitney Peak, Mckenna Grace, and a stacked cast including Elle Fanning as a younger Effie Trinket and Ralph Fiennes as President Snow.

And yes – the franchise is pulling out nostalgia cards. Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson are expected to return as Katniss and Peeta (likely in a flash-forward moment).

Behind the camera, franchise veteran Francis Lawrence is back – which is basically a guarantee that things will look stunning… even when they are devastating.

Timeline-wise, the story lands 24 years before The Hunger Games and 40 years after The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, filling in a major gap fans have been obsessing over.

Bottom line? More tributes. Higher stakes. And a teenage Haymitch fighting not just to survive – but to hold onto what’s left of his world.

May the odds… yeah you know the rest.