Ahead of its release later this year, The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping has revealed its new trailer. Directed by Francis Lawrence, and starring an eye-catching cast including Ralph Fiennes, Jesse Plemons, McKenna Grace, Joseph Zada, Glenn Close, and Kieran Culkin among others, the prequel is set 24 years before the original first film, as a young Haymitch Abernathy (Zada) is chosen for the 50th Hunger Games.
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These particular games mark the second Quarter Quell, held every 25 years to celebrate each quarter-century anniversary of the Capitol crushing the districts’ rebellion. This version has twice as many competitors as normal, making them even more deadly and brutal, which the new footage sets up. Watch the new Sunrise on the Reaping trailer below:
The trailer also came after a pair of new Sunrise on the Reaping posters, one showing off the new arena, and the other focusing on Haymitch and the tagline to “Break the machine.”
Sunrise On The Reaping Looks Like A Great Return To The Hunger Games
The bulk of the official trailer focuses on the characters that audiences are already familiar with, which makes sense as a means of drawing them back in. 2023’s The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes performed ok at the box office against a relatively modest budget ($348 million global haul against $100m production costs), but it was the lowest-grossing in the franchise by a wide margin, and Lionsgate will hope this one can be bigger. It has a lot of returning characters, which should help, and the footage showcases how perfect the recasts are, including:
- Joseph Zada as Haymitch Abernathy
- Ralph Fiennes as President Coriolanus Snow
- Jesse Plemons as Plutarch Heavensbee
- Kieran Culkin as Caesar Flickerman
- Elle Fanning as Effie Trinket
- Maya Hawke as Wiress
- Kelvin Harrison Jr. as Beetee Latier
- Lili Taylor as Mags Flanagan
The casting director definitely understood the assignment on this one, because they pretty much all look exactly like you’d expect younger versions of those characters to. Fanning’s Effie, in particular, looks like she is perfectly capturing the same spirit as Elizabeth Banks’ take on the character, nailing all of her mannerisms.
We don’t see as much of the newcomers, with the arena action largely being held back, meaning there’s not a lot of the likes of McKenna Grace’s Maysilee Donner yet, but it does look like Glenn Close is having the best time, delightfully hamming it up as Drusilla Sickle, the chaperone for District 12.
What’s also notable here is just how colorful it looks. In a world where so many franchise releases are more muted and gray, often to the dismay of viewers, this looks extremely bright and vibrant. It’s not only a welcome sight, but it also juxtaposes nicely with the darkness and violence at the core of the story.
That is certainly promised at the end of the trailer, as President Snow threatens that, if he’s disobeyed, then there will be “the longest, most drawn-out death you people have ever seen.” It’s a chilling note, and one that pairs well with the hints of district rebellion earlier in (such as Wiress’ “All machines can be broken” line), setting up one of the franchise’s most thrilling installments yet.
The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping will hit theaters on November 20, 2026.
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