As work continues on the next The Hunger Games prequel, Sunrise on the Reaping, the latest set photos offer a first look at Joseph Zada as the young Haymitch Abernathy.
The East of Eden and We Were Liars star takes over the role from Woody Harrelson, who played Haymitch in the four movies starring Jennifer Lawrence. This movie will explore his experience in the 50th iteration of the titular games, shedding new light on how he became District 12's second and only living Hunger Games victor for 23 years.
The version of Haymitch many of you will be most familiar with mentored Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark during the 74th Hunger Games, and worked secretly in tandem with District 13 and other victors to incite the Second Rebellion.
On the posters—first shared on SFFGazette.com—featuring Zada's Haymitch Abernathy, we see the words "Our Victor" and "Your Hero," suggesting these scenes take place later in the story, after he's won the Games.
The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping is generating a lot of excitement among fans of Suzanne Collins' hit series of novels, and the franchise is expected to continue to expand in the coming years.
"I don't think it changed my understanding of him — Haymitch is still Haymitch — but it gave me room to explore his earlier journey," the author previously said of his arc in the book. "Like his relationship to Katniss via Burdock. What it meant to take on his best friend's child and see her through the war and become her surrogate father. It was nice to have some time with that angle."
Sunrise on the Reaping will revisit the world of Panem twenty-four years before the events of The Hunger Games, starting on the morning of the reaping of the Fiftieth Hunger Games, also known as the Second Quarter Quell.
As the day dawns on the fiftieth annual Hunger Games, fear grips the districts of Panem. This year, in honour of the Quarter Quell, twice as many tributes will be taken from their homes. Back in District 12, Haymitch Abernathy is trying not to think too hard about his chances. All he cares about is making it through the day and being with the girl he loves. When Haymitch’s name is called, he can feel all his dreams break.
He’s torn from his family and his love, shuttled to the Capitol with the three other District 12 tributes: a young friend who’s nearly a sister to him, a compulsive oddsmaker, and the most stuck-up girl in town. As the Games begin, Haymitch understands he’s been set up to fail. But there’s something in him that wants to fight and have that fight reverberate far beyond the deadly arena.
The cast of The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping includes Joseph Zada, Mckenna Grace, Whitney Peak, Jesse Plemons, Kelvin Harrison Jr., Maya Hawke, Elle Fanning, Kieran Culkin, Lili Taylor, Billy Porter, Glenn Close, and Ralph Fiennes.
Francis Lawrence, who directed 2013's The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, 2014's The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1, 2015's The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2, and 2023's The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes, directs from a script by The Hunger Games scribe Billy Ray.
The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping will be released in theaters on November 20, 2026.