'Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping' Answers Questions About Haymitch's Past (SPOILERS)

When we meet Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) in the original Hunger Games and she volunteers as tribute to save her sister Primrose, she and Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson) are accompanied by their very own District 12 mentor, Haymitch Abernathy (Woody Harrelson).

We already know he won his year of the Hunger Games. But beyond that and a propensity to drink and be pessimistic, we don't know much until he starts showing his more rebellious side as the original movies progress.

But in Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping, we finally learn more about who Haymitch is before life put him through the wringer. And we learn how he won his year of the Hunger Games, with a younger Haymitch played by Joseph Zada.

Here's what we know about Haymitch's win and the spark he lit all those years ago.

Fans of the Hunger Games already know that Katniss and Peeta won their year by gaming the system and refusing to play at the end, forcing President Snow to declare two winners rather than watch them fight to the death.

But how did Haymitch win?

In Sunrise on the Reaping, we get to see a younger, less world-weary Haymitch as he's chosen and taken to the Capitol to compete in the Hunger Games. Originally, Haymitch wasn't picked for the Quarter Quell, an anniversary celebration that requires four tributes per District rather than two. A boy named Woodbine Chance was picked, but Woodbine fled in fear. After Peacekeepers shot him dead, a riot broke out.

Haymitch's girlfriend, Lenore Dove Baird, tried to intervene with Woodbine's grieving mother, who tried to retrieve her son's body. Haymitch tried to help Lenore, and Drusilla Sickle spotted him and tapped him as a tribute.

It's not long before we start to see the rebellious streak in Haymitch that sparks to life again in Katniss years later.

In the end, a frustrated and heartsick Haymitch wins his year by using the arena's force shield against another tribute, bouncing an axe against it to kill Silka and then tossing a bomb to disrupt the force field's generator.

Fans of The Hunger Games have complained that the trailer for The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes dropped too early, making the wait for the release seem interminable.

So when will we get a chance to watch the long-awaited prequel?

In the trailer, Haymitch declares, "I’m sick of living in fear. Just surviving. We’re not animals to be killed for their entertainment.” Which sets the stage for all the events we see starting to erupt right up until Katniss literally and figuratively starts to burn it all down.

Luckily, Sunrise on the Reaping is coming to eager fans in 2026.

Unluckily, we as fans have to wait until November 2026. Nov. 20, 2026, to be precise.

Trailers were released in November 2025 and March 2026, which makes the wait seem all the longer. But never fear, Haymitch's story will arrive soon.