'Sunrise on the Reaping' Is a 'Hunger Games' Prequel, and Here's When It Takes Place

Fans of the Hunger Games franchise already know Katniss Everdeen and her heroic feats during the original series. Since those books and movies hit audiences right in the feels, author Suzanne Collins has released several more books, telling the stories of what came before Katniss took a sledgehammer to the Capitol.

And now, another of those books is getting a movie: Sunrise on the Reaping.

This time, we learn of a different Reaping, during a different time period. But when does Sunrise on the Reaping take place? Here's what we know about its chronological place in the franchise and whose story we can expect to learn this time around.

Just like The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, Sunrise on the Reaping takes us back in time. This time, we're looking at a different Reaping, with a different cast of tributes (kinda).

President Snow is still the same evil antagonist, although this time he's played by Harry Potter villain Ralph Fiennes. We also get a look at a younger Effie Trinket, Mags, Wiress, Beetee, and Plutarch Heavensbee.

But the movie, and source book, focuses on fan favorite Haymitch Abernathy, who is played by Woody Harrelson in the original Hunger Games movies. As a mentor to Katniss and a former tribute himself, Haymitch was clearly hiding some dark trauma in his past, which we now get to be privy to as Joseph Zada brings the younger Haymitch to life for Sunrise on the Reaping.

Bearing in mind that we're seeing Haymitch's origin story, along with younger versions of so many other memorable characters, Sunrise on the Reaping takes place 24 years prior to Katniss's reaping. Haymitch is selected as the representative for District 12 during the 50th Reaping, whereas Katniss famously volunteers herself during the 74th Reaping.

Not only do we get to see Haymitch's devastating Reaping outcome, but we'll learn what drove him to drink and why he was such a practiced cynic by the time Katniss came along and gave him hope.

However, the trailer for Sunrise on the Reaping was released a full year ahead of the movie's release date, and people are having some mixed feelings about it.

Sunrise on the Reaping is slated to hit theaters on Nov. 20, 2026, but the trailer landed in November 2025, and people are losing their minds.

Some on social media have said that life is imitating art too closely, and they are hesitant to watch the movie. Others, however, are stoked, if a little skeptical about the year-long wait following the trailer's release.

On the trailer uploaded to TikTok, one user wrote, "It's just brutal to throw the teaser a year before the movie." Another wrote, "2+ hours of straight pain, and yet I will be sat."

One fan noted, "They actually look so young I have chills... really shows how the Hunger Games is about CHILDREN."

If the next year could hit fast forward, fans would be thrilled. In the meantime, they'll have to feed off crumbs of hints and the book itself for an idea of what comes next. But we can be sure it'll be gut-wrenching, either way.