A new trailer for The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping has been released, giving fans a brand new look at the long-awaited prequel, which opens in theaters on November 20, 2026. The trailer promises a larger scale and higher stakes, and a cast packed with both exciting new talent and longtime screen veterans.

Sunrise on the Reaping takes place 25 years before the original Hunger Games trilogy, chronicling Haymitch Abernathy’s win in the second Quarter Quell. Breakout star Joseph Zada steps into the spotlight as young Haymitch, showcasing an onscreen accent that sounds remarkably similar to his predecessor, Woody Harrelson. Alongside him are Whitney Peak as his girlfriend, Lenore Dove Baird, and Mckenna Grace as fellow tribute Maysilee Donner. 

Francis Lawrence returns to the director’s chair, having helmed all but the original film in the four-film franchise and the 2023 prequel The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes. The film is also written by returning screenwriters Billy Ray and Michael Lesslie, based on the novel by Suzanne Collins.

An initial teaser was released in November 2025, but this full trailer gives audiences the first substantial glimpse of some fan-favorite returning characters. Kieran Culkin takes on the role of exuberant host Caesar Flickerman. Elle Fanning plays a young, peppy Effie Trinket taking her first steps into the Games. Ralph Fiennes threatens suffering as the sinister President Snow. Lili Taylor and Maya Hawke play victors-turned-mentors Mags and Wiress, along with Kelvin Harrison Jr. as a young Beetee Latier, who has a very personal stake in the year’s Games. And Jesse Plemons plays Plutarch Heavensbee, a future Capitol defector played in the original films by the late Philip Seymour Hoffman.

The trailer shows elaborate sets and costumes bursting with color, playing off the book’s sharp juxtaposition between spectacle and suffering. Fans of the novel will recognize key scenes and locations, such as the tribute interviews, the chariot parade, the training center, and a certain character’s funeral. 

You can watch the trailer here.

Update Courtesy of Claire May Lewis

Feature Image Credit to Lionsgate