There are movie franchises that come and go, and then there’s The Hunger Games, which somehow always finds a way to pull everyone right back into Panem the second new footage drops. That world still has a grip on people, and not just because of the arena itself. It’s the cruelty, the politics, the heartbreak, and the way every new chapter comes pre-loaded with some fresh emotional damage. Sunrise on the Reaping was already one of the most anticipated franchise movies on the calendar. Now the new trailer has made the wait feel even longer.
Lionsgate has released a new trailer for The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping, giving fans their latest look at the prequel ahead of its November 20, 2026, theatrical release. The film is directed by Francis Lawrence and written by Billy Ray, adapting Suzanne Collins’ 2025 novel of the same name. The story is set 24 years before Jennifer Lawrence’s Katniss Everdeen entered the arena and follows the 50th Hunger Games, better known as the Second Quarter Quell. And one thing that strikes us here is how good this film looks with the Games being shot on location, the colours are vibrant and the casting looks utterly impeccable.
The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping stars Joseph Zada as a young Haymitch Abernathy, with Ralph Fiennesplaying President Coriolanus Snow, Jesse Plemons as Plutarch Heavensbee, Elle Fanning as Effie Trinket (in an utterly inspired fan casting come to life), Kieran Culkin as Caesar Flickerman, Mckenna Grace as Maysilee Donner, Ben Wang as Wyatt Callow, Maya Hawke as Wiress, Kelvin Harrison Jr. as Beetee Latier, Lili Taylor as Mags Flanagan, Whitney Peakas Lenore Dove Baird, Molly McCann as Louella McCoy, Iona Bell as Lou Lou, and Lili Taylor returning as Mags. Lawrence will reprise her role as Katniss Everdeen in the film too, having confirmed her part earlier this year. Alongside Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson is also set to reprise his role as Peeta in the epilogue.
Collider Exclusive · Sci-Fi Survival Quiz Which Sci-Fi World Would You Survive? The Matrix · Mad Max · Blade Runner · Dune · Star Wars
Five universes. Five completely different ways the future went wrong — or sideways, or up in flames. Only one of them is the world your instincts were built for. Eight questions will figure out which dystopia, galaxy, or desert wasteland you’d actually make it out of alive.
💊The Matrix
🔥Mad Max
🌧️Blade Runner
🏜️Dune
🚀Star Wars
01
You sense something is deeply wrong with the world around you. What do you do? The first instinct is often the truest one.
02
In a world of scarcity, what resource do you guard most fiercely? What we protect reveals what we believe survival actually requires.
03
What kind of threat keeps you up at night? Fear is useful data — if you’re honest about what you’re actually afraid of.
04
How do you deal with authority you don’t trust? Every dystopia has a power structure. Your approach to it determines everything.
05
Which environment could you actually endure long-term? Survival isn’t just tactical — it’s physical, psychological, and very much about where you are.
06
Who do you want in your corner when things fall apart? The company you keep is the clearest signal of who you actually are.
07
Where do you draw the line — if you draw one at all? Every survivor eventually faces a moment that tests what they’re actually made of.
08
What would actually make survival worth it? Staying alive is one thing. Having a reason to is another.
Your Fate Has Been Calculated You’d Survive In…
Your answers point to the world your instincts were built for. This is the universe your temperament, your survival instincts, and your particular brand of stubbornness were made for.
The Resistance, Zion
The Matrix
You took the red pill a long time ago — probably before anyone offered it to you. You’re a systems thinker who can’t help but notice the seams in things.
You’re drawn to understanding how the system works before figuring out how to break it.
You’d find the Resistance, or it would find you — your instinct for spotting constructed realities is the machines’ worst nightmare.
You function best when you have access to information and the freedom to act on it.
The Matrix built an airtight prison. You’d be the one probing the walls for the door.
The Wasteland
Mad Max
The wasteland doesn’t reward the clever or the well-connected — it rewards those who are hard to kill and harder to break. That’s you.
You don’t need comfort, community, or a cause larger than the next horizon.
You need a vehicle, a clear threat, and enough fuel to outrun it — and you’re good at all three.
You are unsentimental enough to survive that world, and decent enough — just barely — to be something more than another raider.
In the wasteland, that distinction is everything.
Los Angeles, 2049
Blade Runner
You’d survive here because you know how to exist in moral grey areas without losing yourself completely.
You read people accurately, keep your circle small, and ask the questions others prefer not to answer.
In a city where humanity is a legal designation rather than a feeling, you hold onto something that keeps you functional.
You’re not a hero. But you’re not lost, either.
In Blade Runner’s world, that distinction is everything.
Arrakis
Dune
Arrakis is the most hostile environment in the known universe — and you are precisely the kind of person it rewards.
Patience, discipline, and political awareness are your core strengths — and on Arrakis, they’re survival tools.
You understand that the long game matters more than any single victory.
Others come to Dune and are consumed by it. You’d learn its logic and earn its respect.
In time, you wouldn’t just survive Arrakis — you’d begin to reshape it.
A Galaxy Far, Far Away
Star Wars
The galaxy far, far away is vast, loud, and in a constant state of violent political upheaval — and you wouldn’t have it any other way.
You find meaning in being part of something larger than yourself — a cause, a crew, a rebellion.
You’d gravitate toward the Rebellion, or the fringes, or whatever pocket of the galaxy still believes the Empire’s grip can be broken.
You fight — not because you have to, but because standing aside isn’t something you’re capable of.
In Star Wars, that willingness is what makes all the difference.
What Can We Expect From ‘Sunrise on the Reaping’?
Mckenna Grace spoke to Collider’s Perri Nemiroff last year, singling out Zada’s performance as a standout, which is a big statement to make given how emotional the films have proven to be from the days of Jennifer Lawrence.
“Joseph Zada. Just his performance, everybody’s going to be, like, freaking sobbing in the theaters. It’s rough. Because I’m supposed to be the mean, most stuck-up girl in town, but I’m watching him do his thing and, like, oof, it’s very gut-punchy. And Glenn Close as Drusilla, all of us have been losing our minds. It’s been crazy. And also, Grace [Ackary], who’s playing the younger version of Asterid, Katniss’ mom, is really fantastic. But to me, it’s just crazy watching her on screen because she looks so much like her, so it’s so trippy. God, our entire cast is so good. Everybody’s so good.”
Sunrise on the Reaping hits theaters on November 20, 2026.
