Hunger Games Prequel Trailer Shows Haymitch's Arena

Lionsgate released a trailer this week for "The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping," the sixth movie in the series. It is scheduled to open in U.S. theaters and IMAX on November 20. The film is directed by Francis Lawrence and written by Billy Ray.

The story runs 24 years before the first "Hunger Games" movie. Joseph Zada plays 16-year-old Haymitch Abernathy of District 12. He is picked as a tribute for the Second Quarter Quell, the 50th Hunger Games. That edition puts 48 tributes in the arena instead of 24.

The trailer shows Haymitch working with Maysilee Donner, another District 12 tribute played by Mckenna Grace, as he starts looking for ways to push back against the Capitol.

The cast also lists Ralph Fiennes as President Coriolanus Snow, Jesse Plemons as Plutarch Heavensbee, Elle Fanning as Effie Trinket, Kieran Culkin as Caesar Flickerman, Glenn Close and Whitney Peak. Lawrence has directed several earlier films in the franchise and returns for this one.

The film draws on Suzanne Collins' 2025 novel of the same name. It stands as a prequel to "The Hunger Games" and follows the 2023 release "The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes."