What to Know Before The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping

The short version: Sunrise on the Reaping is a prequel set 24 years before The Hunger Games, at the fiftieth Games, the Second Quarter Quell, when twice as many tributes are taken. It tells how a young Haymitch Abernathy, the District 12 mentor from the original films, came to win those Games. You do not need to rewatch anything to follow it, but knowing Haymitch from The Hunger Games and Catching Fire is what gives the story its weight. It opens November 20, 2026.

Who Haymitch is

In The Hunger Games (2012) and the films that follow, Haymitch Abernathy, played by Woody Harrelson, is the only living victor from District 12: a drunk, bitter mentor who keeps Katniss and Peeta alive and joins the rebellion. Catching Fire establishes that he won the Second Quarter Quell. Sunrise on the Reaping is that story, with Joseph Zada as the young Haymitch.

Where it sits in the timeline

The five Hunger Games stories in the order they happen:

1. The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes (2023 film): the tenth Games, with a young Coriolanus Snow, 64 years before Katniss. 2. Sunrise on the Reaping (2026): the fiftieth Games, Haymitch's, 24 years before Katniss. 3. The Hunger Games (2012): the seventy-fourth Games, Katniss's first. 4. Catching Fire (2013): the seventy-fifth Games, the Third Quarter Quell. 5. Mockingjay Part 1 (2014) and Part 2 (2015): the rebellion.

It tells how a young Haymitch Abernathy, the District 12 mentor from the original films, came to win those Games.

The characters you already know

Several familiar characters appear younger, played by new actors:

President Snow. Ralph Fiennes plays Snow, already president. Donald Sutherland played him in the original films and Tom Blyth played him young in The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes.

Effie Trinket. Elle Fanning plays a young Effie, the District 12 escort Elizabeth Banks played in the original films.

Plutarch Heavensbee. Jesse Plemons plays Plutarch, the Gamemaker Philip Seymour Hoffman played in Catching Fire and Mockingjay.

Caesar Flickerman. Kieran Culkin plays the Capitol's host, the role Stanley Tucci played.

Beetee, Wiress and Mags. Kelvin Harrison Jr., Maya Hawke and Lili Taylor play the victors Katniss meets in Catching Fire, where they were played by Jeffrey Wright, Amanda Plummer and Lynn Cohen.

The new characters to watch

Whitney Peak plays Lenore Dove Baird, Haymitch's girlfriend in the book, who shares the Baird name with Lucy Gray Baird from The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes. Mckenna Grace plays Maysilee Donner, another District 12 tribute. In the original novel, Maysilee is the first owner of the mockingjay pin that later reaches Katniss.

Do you need to rewatch the other films?

No. It is a prequel, and it tells its own Games from the reaping to the end. If you have time for one, Catching Fire does the most to show who Haymitch became and why the Quarter Quells matter. The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes is the closest in tone and fills in Snow and the Covey.

Before you take younger viewers

The film is rated PG-13 for strong violence, bloody images, disturbing material, some smoking and teen drinking, and it runs about two hours and 38 minutes. Our parents guide has the full rating details and questions to ask before you decide.

Common questions

Do you need to watch the other Hunger Games films before Sunrise on the Reaping?

No. It is a prequel that tells its own Games. Catching Fire does the most to show who Haymitch became, and The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes is closest in tone.

When is Sunrise on the Reaping set?

Twenty-four years before The Hunger Games, at the fiftieth Games, the Second Quarter Quell, when twice as many tributes are taken.

Who plays young Haymitch?

Joseph Zada plays young Haymitch Abernathy, the role Woody Harrelson played in the original films.