Lionsgate has released the first official trailer for "The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping," giving fans a new look at Panem, young Haymitch Abernathy, and the deadly 50th Hunger Games ahead of the film's Nov. 20, 2026 release.

Lionsgate's teaser marks the franchise's return to the world of Panem 24 years before Katniss Everdeen's story, with the film centered on the morning of the reaping for the 50th Hunger Games, also known as the Second Quarter Quell. The footage shows a darker version of District 12 and signals the scale of the Capitol's annual ritual, which forces twice as many tributes from each district into the arena.

Joseph Zada stars as a young Haymitch Abernathy, the future mentor played by Woody Harrelson in the original films. The trailer also offers brief looks at key supporting characters, including Elle Fanning as Effie Trinket, Ralph Fiennes as President Snow, and Kieran Culkin as Caesar Flickerman, according to Deadline.

The cast is one of the film's biggest selling points, bringing together Jesse Plemons, Glenn Close, Maya Hawke, McKenna Grace, Whitney Peak, and Kelvin Harrison Jr. in addition to Zada, Fanning, Fiennes, and Culkin. IMDb's cast listing also includes Josh Hutcherson as Peeta Mellark, though the teaser and early coverage focus mainly on the prequel's new timeline and younger versions of familiar figures.

Francis Lawrence is back in the director's chair, continuing his long run with the franchise after directing "Catching Fire," both "Mockingjay" films, and "The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes." Billy Ray wrote the screenplay, while Nina Jacobson and Brad Simpson returned as producers, with Cameron MacConomy as executive producer, the Hollywood Reporter said.

The film is based on Suzanne Collins' 2025 novel "Sunrise on the Reaping," which returns to the franchise's core idea of state control, survival, and spectacle. The story follows Haymitch through the 50th Hunger Games, a milestone event that reshapes his life and explains the damaged, guarded mentor audiences later meet in the original series.

The previous prequel, "The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes," was a prequel to the original "Hunger Games" trilogy and followed a young Coriolanus Snow during the 10th Hunger Games as he mentored District 12 tribute, Lucy Gray Baird. Set 64 years before Katniss Everdeen's story, it shows Snow's rise, the Capitol's grip on the Games, and the choices that push him toward becoming Panem's future president, as per Geek Tyrant.

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The Hunger Games, Lionsgate