Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark are gearing up for a deadly battle royale once more, as Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson are returning for Lionsgate’s upcoming prequel film, The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping.
As reported by The Hollywood Reporter, the pair will return following their roles in the first four movies of the franchise, with their most recent entry being 2015’s The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2. As the prequel is set 24 years before the events of 2012’s The Hunger Games, the pair will likely appear in flash forwards, as they were not even born yet, although specific details about their roles have not been revealed.
The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping is the sequel to 2023’s The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes, and will centre on a young Haymitch Abernathy, the winner and sole survivor of the 50th Hunger Games, and explore the origins of his trauma and how he grew to become the cynical mentor fans know from the first film.
Francis Lawrence (Red Sparrow) will direct the film based on Suzanne Collins‘ novel of the same name, with the prequel’s cast including Joseph Zada (We Were Liars) as Abernathy, Mckenna Grace (Ghostbusters: Afterlife) as Maysilee Donner, Ralph Fiennes (The Menu) as President Snow, Jesse Plemons (Breaking Bad) as Plutarch Heavensbee, Elle Fanning (Predator Badlands) as Effie Trinket, and Whitney Peak (Gossip Girl) as Lenore Dove Baird.
The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping opens in cinemas on 20 November 2026, with its logline reading:
Taking place 24 years before the first film, a young Haymitch Abernathy is selected to compete in the 50th Hunger Games, also known as the Second Quarter Quell, which occurs every 25 years with a twist to the rules. For this Quarter Quell, each district of Panem must send twice the number of tributes to the Capitol, who will fight to the death in the Hunger Games.
Kevin is a reformed PC Master Race gamer with a penchant for franchise “duds” like Darksiders III and Dead Space 3. He has made it his life-long mission to play every single major game release – lest his wallet dies trying.
Joyce Ong
Si Jia
