The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping — Cast, Release Date, and Plot: Inside Panem’s Next Chapter

Lionsgate is heading back to Panem with another prequel, and this one dives straight into the Games that turned Haymitch Abernathy into the grumpy genius mentor we met later. It is called 'The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping', it is based on Suzanne Collins' new novel, and yes, this is the second prequel after 'The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes' and the sixth movie in the franchise overall.

Where this lands and when it arrives

'Sunrise on the Reaping' is set 24 years before the original films and zeroes in on the 50th Hunger Games — the Second Quarter Quell — when the Capitol doubled the field. Lionsgate Films has it on the calendar for November 20, 2026 in the U.S. The official Hunger Games account pushed the date with a teaser on April 1, 2025 that did not mince words:

'Forty-eight tributes. One victor.'

The lineup (it is stacked)

Francis Lawrence is back in the director's chair, with a screenplay by Billy Ray. The cast mixes returning figures from the lore with fresh faces playing the doomed, the powerful, and the painfully naive. Glenn Close is the newest addition, per DiscussingFilm. Here is how the film is populating Panem:

• Tributes: Joseph Zada as Haymitch Abernathy; McKenna Grace as Maysilee Donner; Ben Wang as Wyatt Callow; Molly McCann as Louella McCoy; Iona Bell as Lou Lou; Jhaleil Swaby as Panache Barker; Laura Marcus as Silka Sharp; Percy Daggs IV as Ampert Latier; Rada Rae as Wellie; Sky Frances as Maritte; Tatyana Muzondo as Ringina; Alina Reid as Kerna; Salimou Thiam as Clayton; John Doeble as Buck; Kaine Buffonge as Hull.
• Capitol residents: Ralph Fiennes as President Coriolanus Snow; Jesse Plemons as Plutarch Heavensbee; Elle Fanning as Effie Trinket; Kieran Culkin as Caesar Flickerman; Glenn Close as Drusilla Sickle; Billy Porter as Magno Stift; Iris Apatow as Proserpina Trinket; Edvin Ryding as Vitus; Sandra Forster as Hersilia; Jax Guerrero as Tibby.
• Mentors: Kelvin Harrison Jr. as Beetee Latier (a District 3 victor whose son, Ampert, is in the arena); Maya Hawke as Wiress (also a District 3 victor); Lili Taylor as Mags Flanagan (District 4 victor).
• District 12 locals: Whitney Peak as Lenore Dove Baird; Kara Tointon as Willamae Abernathy; Smylie Bradwell as Sid Abernathy; Jeffrey Hallman as Clerk Carmine; Serafin Mishiev as Woodbine Chance; Scot Greenan as Burdock Everdeen; Grace Ackary as Asterid March; Melody Chikakane Brown as Hattie Meeney; Jefferson White as Mr. McCoy; Devon Singletary as Blair.

Production snapshot

This is a Lionsgate Films feature, greenlit and moving. Principal photography kicked off in late July in Spain, with the franchise's social accounts teasing cameras rolling on August 6. Among the shooting spots: Somiedo and Teverga. The title is 'Sunrise on the Reaping' — if you have seen it misprinted elsewhere, that is the one to stick with.

So what is the story this time?

We are with 16-year-old Haymitch in District 12 on the worst year imaginable: the Quarter Quell that doubles the tributes to 48. He is mouthy, smart, in love, and absolutely not ready to be reaped — which of course is when the Capitol calls his name. He is shipped off with three other District 12 tributes: a younger friend who is basically family, a numbers-obsessed gambler, and the most stuck-up girl in town. The Capitol designs the Quells to break people, and Haymitch is clearly being set up to fail — but he is stubborn. The book makes it clear his fight inside the arena echoes far beyond it, and the film is set to trace exactly how he survives and what it costs.

Quick take

Between a loaded cast (Fiennes, Plemons, Fanning, Culkin, Close — not subtle) and Lawrence returning to steer, this is aiming to connect a lot of dots fans have wanted to see on screen for years. Also notable: characters like Effie, Caesar, and Plutarch appearing in this era — a fun timeline wrinkle if you like seeing how these Capitol fixtures were already moving pieces around the board.

'The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping' hits theaters November 20, 2026.