After a decade-long hiatus, the world of Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games made its glorious return in 2020 with the prequel The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, promising more on the way. In true Hollywood fashion, a film adaptation starring Rachel Zegler, Tom Blyth, Hunter Schaefer, and Viola Davis was released back in 2023 to mixed reviews and huge financial success. And, with key financial success, comes the propagation of the franchise.
ABC News reports that the film adaptation of Sunrise on the Reaping aims to begin filming in July of this year with a projected 2026 release date. The announcement could not be more timely: Collins’ book of the same name was released last month to critical acclaim. Director Francis Lawrence, who has helmed the series since Catching Fire (2023), announced his return to the franchise alongside Sunrise on the Reaping’s first trailer at CinemaCon. Lawrence discussed that a draft of the script has been finalized after more than a year of working on it.
Like Songbirds and Snakes, Sunrise on the Reaping fleshes out the backstory of a supporting character from the main series. The book, and presumably its film counterpart, follow the Second Quarter Quell from the perspective of Haymitch Abernathy (played by Woody Harrelson in the original trilogy): the first Hunger Games winner from District 12, and Katniss (played by Jennifer Lawrence in the original trilogy) and Peeta’s (Josh Hutcherson in the original trilogy) eventual mentor. Sunrise on the Reaping also re-introduces characters from the main series including Effie Trinket and Plutarch Heavensbee as well as Lenore Dove Baird: a bard from the same traveling group as Songbirds and Snakes’ Lucy Baird.
Casting for Sunrise on the Reaping is still ongoing. Production is set to begin later this year.
News Update Courtesy of Red Broadwell
Feature Image from ‘Catching Fire’ (2013); Woody Harrelson as Haymitch