First Look: “Sunrise on the Reaping” Trailer Unleashes a Dark New Chapter of The Hunger Games

Panem is back, and darker, bigger, and more intense than ever.

Lionsgate has officially dropped the first trailer for The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping, giving fans a gripping new look at the next chapter in Suzanne Collins’ dystopian universe. The film hits theatres this November.

This time, the story goes back 24 years before Katniss Everdeen’s rise, focusing on a young Haymitch Abernathy, played by Joseph Zada. The film explores the brutal Second Quarter Quell, the 50th Hunger Games, where each district is forced to send double the tributes, raising the stakes to a terrifying new level.

The trailer wastes no time pulling fans back into Panem’s chilling world, offering first glimpses of a stacked ensemble cast bringing some of the franchise’s most iconic characters to life.

Elle Fanning shines as a young Effie Trinket, while Kieran Culkin steps into the spotlight as the flamboyant Caesar Flickerman. Maya Hawke appears as Wiress, Jesse Plemons plays Plutarch Heavensbee, and Ralph Fiennes takes on the role of the ruthless President Snow, adding serious weight to the franchise’s central villain.

The cast doesn’t stop there, McKenna Grace, Whitney Peak, Kelvin Harrison Jr., Ben Wang, and Lili Taylor all join the growing world, while Glenn Close makes a striking appearance as Drusilla Sickle.

Directed once again by Francis Lawrence, who helmed multiple films in the original series, the prequel promises a return to the high-stakes storytelling and emotional intensity that made The Hunger Games a global phenomenon. Screenwriter Billy Ray also returns, helping connect this chapter back to where it all began.

The film is based on Collins’ 2025 novel of the same name, which quickly became a blockbuster success, selling over a million copies in its first week.

And if the trailer is any indication, Sunrise on the Reaping is set to deliver a powerful mix of rebellion, heartbreak, and survival, anchored by a young Haymitch forced to navigate one of the deadliest Games in Panem’s history.

One thing’s for sure: the odds are not in his favour.

The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping arrives in theatres November 20.