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Posted in: Lionsgate, Movies | Tagged: film, lionsgate, the hunger games, The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping
Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping Star on Playing Haymitch
The actor playing Haymitch in The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping reveals that he's nervous about portraying the popular character.
Article Summary
- The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping explores Haymitch Abernathy's origin during the Second Quarter Quell.
- Joseph Zada takes on the role of young Haymitch, expressing nerves about joining the iconic franchise.
- The film dives into Haymitch's struggles, showcasing how the brutal Games shaped his sardonic personality.
- Lionsgate sets the movie release for November 20, 2026, with production starting soon for eager Hunger Games fans.
The Hunger Games franchise is officially heading back to Panem. Following the success of 2023's The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes, Lionsgate is already developing another prequel film—this time focused on a younger version of beloved mentor Haymitch Abernathy. Based on Suzanne Collins' upcoming novel The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping, the film will revisit the 50th Hunger Games—also known as the Second Quarter Quell—and offer a new perspective on one of the series' most intriguing characters.
The story itself is set 24 years before the events of the original trilogy and follows 18-year-old Haymitch as he's reaped as a tribute from District 12. Fans of the books already know the outcome—Haymitch becomes the unlikely victor—but Sunrise on the Reaping is expected to dive deeper into the brutal circumstances that shaped him long before he became the sardonic mentor played by Woody Harrelson.
The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping Star on Nerves and Preparation
Taking on the younger version of Haymitch is rising actor Joseph Zada, who recently opened up about what it means to enter such a high-profile franchise. "I've seen scripts. I can't say anything," he tells Deadline. "I've read the book twice already. I'm a very, very, very big fan of everything to do with it and the whole cast and everyone involved. I'm so ridiculously nervous."
Zada's nervousness is understandable (but also promising given his respect for the franchise). Harrelson's performance left a lasting impression, and Haymitch's emotional arc remains one of the franchise's most complex. Now, with Sunrise on the Reaping, the character's origin story will be explored in full, offering audiences a look at his sharp instincts, moral clarity, and eventual disillusionment with the Capitol.
The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes clearly showed that there's still an eager audience for Hunger Games stories, earning nearly $340 million worldwide and garnering praise for its return to the franchise's darker, politically charged roots. Lionsgate has revealed that the film will hit theaters on November 20, 2026, and with production expected to begin this month, fans won't have to wait much longer to return to the beloved YA franchise.
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