'The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping': What To Know

In 2012, The Hunger Games franchise introduced young adult audiences to the dystopian world of Panem, an alternate version of North America way in the future after society collapses, which might be sooner than we think after the sudden dissolution of Bennifer.

Suzanne Collins penned three novels in the original series, which became the massively successful movie franchise starring Jennifer Lawrence, Liam Hemsworth, and Josh Hutcherson. Once those movies had a significant cultural moment, Collins began working on the next generation of Hunger Games books with 2020’s The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (and the 2023 movie adaptation). Now she’s at it again with another prequel story, The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping. That novel is expected to hit shelves March 18th of next year.

Shortly after the fifth novel was announced, a movie adaptation was promised, and while we don’t even have the book yet, the theatrical version won’t be too far behind.

“From the beginning, Lionsgate has been a wonderful home and partner for the Hunger Games franchise, and I’m very excited to be collaborating with Adam and the team as we bring this next story to theaters in 2026,” Collins previously declared in a statement.

Here is everything to know so far about the upcoming reaping.

Plot

Stick with me here: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes takes place 64 years before Katniss’ storyline, while The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping will take place 24 years before Katniss’ own Games, so we will get to see what it was like during those in between years when Snow rose to power. Sunrise is expected to tell the story of Haymitch Abernathy, played by Woody Harrelson in the original trilogy, on the day of his own reaping. Haymitch was a tribute in the 50th Hunger Games, also known as The Second Quarter Quell. We know he wins his own games and goes onto help Katniss, but he was left traumatized before becoming a mentor.

Throughout the series, the Second Quarter Quell is often referred to as the most gruesome Hunger Games. In the Catching Fire novel, Haymitch details how he was able to win, so the novel and movie adaptation will likely follow the same (bloody and gruesome) storyline.

“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. Like fans around the globe, we are eagerly anticipating this exciting return to Panem,” read a statement from Lionsgate after the movie was first announced.

Since the novel and the movie were announced at the same time, it’s possible that Collins wrote the story with the big screen adaptation in mind, so it should be pretty faithful to the book. We’ll have a better grasp of plot points when as the book release moves closer.

Cast

Obviously, Woody Harrelson is a little too old to play a teen, but you never know how fare they might go with de-aging. For now, there has only been speculation regarding casting, since it is relatively early. Rumors have been swirling that Challengers star Mike Faist could be in the running, and fans have been quick to point out that he would be a little too old for the role, though that hasn’t stopped him before!

No other cast has been announced at this time. We know that there are 48 tributes, so there will probably be some good casting announcements to come, in addition to whoever will play a middle-aged President Snow.