The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping Casts Its Leads

Haymitch Abernathy. Lenore Dove Baird. Welcome to the second Quarter Quell. Sunrise on the Reaping, the seventh film in The Hunger Games franchise, has found its leading actors.

The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping is the fifth dystopian book from New York Times best-selling author Suzanne Collins, focusing on a beloved mentor from the original trilogy.

Set 24 years before the events of The Hunger Games trilogy, Sunrise on the Reaping opens on the morning of the fiftieth Hunger Games ceremony and second Quarter Quell. In District 12, 16-year-old Haymitch Abernathy’s world stops when he is reaped with another boy and two girls.

Taken from his home, his family, and Lenore Dove, the love of his life, he knows he’s marked for death before he even sets foot in the Capitol. But Haymitch is as stubborn as ever and will not go down without a fight. He made a promise that this sunrise would be the last.

This will be the second stand-alone prequel in the world of Panem. The book and film, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, are set 64 years before the original trilogy and 40 years before this novel.

The book was announced in June 2024. On the same day, Lionsgate announced that a film adaptation was underway. The book’s film adaptation will arrive in theaters almost three years after The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes.

Finally, Lionsgate has revealed this film’s first two castings, arguably the most critical castings. Especially Haymitch, whose on-screen persona originated from Woody Harrelson. Now, it’s newcomer Joseph Zada’s turn.

It’s a huge step for Zada’s career; his credits before this are sparse and small. He will also be a main character in another book adaptation, the series adaptation of E. Lockhart’s We Were Liars, which premieres June 18 on Prime Video.

But our Lenore Dove, Whitney Peak, is no stranger to the screens. Her filmography includes Molly’s Game and Hocus Pocus 2, while her TV credits include Chilling Adventures of Sabrina and the 2020 Gossip Girl reboot.

Lionsgate has kept other details about the film under tight wraps, or perhaps it’s still in the early stages of production, so there aren’t many details to give.

Francis Lawrence, the director of the original Hunger Games trilogy and The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, will direct Sunrise on the Reaping, with a script by Billy Ray.

Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping will arrive in theaters on November 20, 2026.