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The Hunger Games‘ main film series would end with Mockingjay: Part 2, but there are still plenty of Panem-based stories left to tell. The next character to take center stage is Haymitch Abernathy, who fans surely know as a mentor to Katniss and Peeta. His tribute days will soon be told in the book and upcoming prequel film of the same name, Sunrise on the Reaping. As a fan, I’m psyched for the new movie and, after hearing director Francis Lawrence‘s update, there’s one particular detail I’m really pumped about.
As the box office favored the first Hunger Games prequel film, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, it seems audiences are still eager to see more installments in this franchise. It was previously announced that Suzanne Collins’ Sunrise on the Reaping would be released in March, and it was exciting to hear that director Francis Lawrence would adapt the book. The filmmaker recently discussed the film’s progress with Collider, and it sounds like everything is moving right along:
Yeah, I’m shooting that this year. So we’ve actually just sort of started prep. The book comes out mid-March. We’ve sort of got a research phase of prep. After London, I’m going to go on a scout, and then we start prepping in April, and we shoot this year.
This exciting update doubles down a particularly exciting fact for me. Considering the production schedule for Sunrise on the Reaping, fans can look forward to the shortest gap between book publication and its film adaptation in this franchise’s history. It’s one thing to have a plan laid out for a book that’s been out for a while. However, it’s something else entirely for a theatrical take on a novel to be in the works before the source material has actually hit shelves.
Of course, because Sunrise on the Reaping isn’t out yet, that presents some logistical hurdles for Francis Lawrence and his collaborators. Lawrence went on to explain the “tricky” aspect of planning the film compared to the series’ other installments:
I will say it’s, like, it’s tricky because, you know, the book’s not out, so only people know generally what it’s about. I think there was an excerpt that was put out, and Suzanne maybe has a quote out there about what the thematics are. So we’re, like, we’re researching a little, but yeah, like, we can’t put, you know, scenes out or anything like that, yet.
I’m so stoked to read the book and learn more about Haymitch’s early life as teenage District 12 tribute. Woody Harrelson played him to perfection in the original four films, and I’m curious as to who’ll play his young counterpart in the prequel. So far, fans have called for Cobra Kai star Tanner Buchanan to play Haymitch. Another candidate is House of the Dragon actor Tom Glynn-Carney, who seems to be down for it.
As for the novel, some of the book’s heartbreaking details have been divulged via a Chapter One excerpt that was released. It centers on Haymitch being reaped for the Second Quarter Quell on his birthday and reveals he had a girlfriend named Lenore. On the whole, details are scarce, but I feel like we have a tear-jerker of a movie on the way.
Given that production isn’t expected to start until June, Francis Lawrence and the rest of the crew have three months to dig deep in Suzanne Collins’ latest book. Once fans read Sunrise on the Reaping, they’ll surely have a better idea of what to expect from the new movie.
So, if you’re a fan like me, you should take comfort in the fact that after you finish the book, you won’t have to wait that long for the accompanying film adaption to hit cinemas. More immediately, though, I know I’ll be heading to my local bookstore when the novel arrives. Sunrise on the Reaping is set for release on March 18th with its film adaptation currently set to hit theaters on November 20, 2026.