‘Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping’ Movie: Screenwriter Billy Ray Set for Haymitch Prequel
The odds were only kinda, sorta in the favor of CinemaCon attendees on Tuesday morning as Lionsgate unveiled a new logo for “The Hunger Games” prequel “Sunrise on the Reaping” to the annual trade show for movie theater owners but stopped short of offering any major details — such as cast or footage — about the new film.
At least one more familiar face will be returning to Panem. Billy Ray, who co-wrote the original “Hunger Games” as well as that iconic AMC ad with Nicole Kidman, has been tapped to write the screenplay for “The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping.”
As previously announced, Francis Lawrence, who has helmed every “Hunger Games” installment since 2012’s “Catching Fire,” will direct the prequel sequel. “The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping” will be released in theaters on Nov. 20, 2026.
“we’re really just getting into the casting process right now. we’re very excited. we’ve been working on this draft for a year,” Lawrence said at CinemaCon. “We start shooting in July.”
Based on Suzanne Collins’ novel of the same name, “Sunrise on the Reaping” will revisit the world of Panem nearly a quarter of a century before the events of the original “Hunger Games” saga. It starts on the morning of the reaping of the 50th Hunger Games, known as the Second Quarter Quell, in which Haymitch Abernathy (portrayed by Woody Harrelson in the original saga) entered the deadly arena. In 2012’s “Hunger Games,” Haymitch Abernathy serves as a mentor to Jennifer Lawrence’s Katniss Everdeen and Josh Hutcherson’s Peeta Mellark.
Collins, who penned the original trilogy and prequel novel “The Hunger Games: Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes,” published “Sunrise on the Reaping” earlier in March.
Lionsgate continued the “Hunger Games” film franchise with “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes,” starring Rachel Zegler as tribute Lucy Gray Baird and Tom Blyth as young Coriolanious Snow, which became a hit with $348 million globally in 2023. That film focused on the 10th annual Hunger Games, which takes place decades before Snow becomes the tyrannical leader of Panem. As a franchise, “The Hunger Games” has generated more than $3.3 billion at the worldwide box office, with 2013’s “Catching Fire” as the highest-grossing with $865 million.
