Lionsgate has officially confirmed that Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson, the iconic stars of the original ‘Hunger Games’ films, will return for the upcoming prequel ‘The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping.’

Although the story takes place 24 years before the events of the first Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins’ new novel includes a moment in which an adult Katniss Everdeen (Lawrence) and Peeta Mellark (Hutcherson) listen to Haymitch Abernathy—portrayed in the original movies by Woody Harrelson—as he recounts his own Games.

The prequel opens on the day of the reaping for the 50th Hunger Games, known as the Second Quarter Quell. Its focus is on 16-year-old Haymitch, played in the film by Joseph Zada, a sharp and inventive teen from District 12 who is unexpectedly selected as a tribute. This edition of the Games introduces a brutal twist: the number of tributes is doubled, sending 48 children into the arena to fight for survival. Haymitch will eventually become the mentor of Katniss and Peeta in the original series.

Sunrise on the Reaping arrives in theaters on November 20, 2026. Its first trailer racked up 109 million views in 24 hours, becoming Lionsgate’s second-largest trailer launch ever, behind only the Michael trailer, which earned 116 million views in the same time frame—statistics first reported by Deadline.

Director Francis Lawrence, who has helmed four of the five films in the franchise—which together have earned $3.4 billion worldwide—returns once again. The five ‘Hunger Games’ novels have collectively sold over 100 million copies and been translated into 52 languages. ‘Sunrise on the Reaping’ posted historic numbers upon release, selling 1.5 million copies globally in its first week, the largest debut of any book in Collins’ series. In the U.S. alone, it sold 1.2 million copies, more than double the opening for ‘The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes’ and over triple that of ‘Mockingjay.’

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