Is the first teaser for The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping finally here ahead of its 2026 release?

The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping's first teaser is finally out after much anticipation for the movie's November 2026 release. Lionsgate dropped the first teaser for the prequel movie on Thursday, November 20, and introduced the younger versions of some beloved characters from the franchise.

The teaser opens to the annual Hunger Games reaping ceremony at Panem, introducing Glenn Close as Drusilla Sickle, complete with facial prosthetics and fake teeth. She kicks off the reaping announcement at District 12, needing double the amount of tributes to celebrate the second Quarter Quell. She says into the microphone in front of the crowd:

"Twice the tributes. Twice the glory."

From there, The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping trailer gives a sneak preview of the young versions of old characters and a set of new ones. Joseph Zara takes over the role of teenage Haymitch Abernathy from Woody Harrelson and Elle Fanning as young Effie Trinket, previously played by Elizabeth Banks.

The rest of the teaser features a montage of the Quarter Quell setting and Haymitch with the other tributes, including his fellow District 12 tribute Maysilee Donner, played by McKenna Grace. But besides the danger and suspense in the game as tributes fight for survival, the montage also features Haymitch's life on the outside, including his romance with Whitney Peak's Lenore Dove Baird.

Other snapshots of key players in the story are also included in the teaser, including Jesse Plemons as Plutarch Heavensbee and Ralph Fiennes as President Snow. The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping's teaser closer with Woody Harrelson's older Haymitch's voice, saying, "I think these games are gonna be different."

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What is The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping all about?

Glenn Close as Drusilla Sickle (Image via Lionsgate/YouTube)

The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping is based on Suzanne Collins' book of the same name. It's a prequel to the Hunger Games series that takes place 24 years before fans first met Katniss Everdeen in the first movie. While it's another Hunger Games story, with tributes collaborating with allies and battling foes in a fight to survive, the prequel is set to tell a grander game story.

It will be all about the 50th Hunger Games, aka the Second Quarter Quell. The story begins on the morning of the reaping, when Panem is struck with the news that they are not only going to choose tributes for the annual games, but they have to choose twice as many Hunger Games tributes for what is the games' golden anniversary. Collins' book description reads:

"As the day dawns on the fiftieth annual Hunger Games, fear grips the districts of Panem. This year, in honor of the Quarter Quell, twice as many tributes will be taken from their homes."

At the center of the Quarter Quell storyline is Haymitch Abernathy, but the younger version of Woody Harrelson's character. Before fans knew him as Katniss Everdeen and Peeta's mentor, he was a tribute in the 50th Hunger Games, and The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping is his backstory.

Read more: Who won the Sunrise on the Reaping fan casting contest?

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Catch The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping in movie theaters on November 20, 2026.

Edited by Kinette Sumadia