The initial trailer for the upcoming Hunger Games movie, Sunrise on the Reaping, has already given away some key plot points from the book. The film, scheduled for release in 2026, is based on Suzanne Collins’ newest novel and tells the story of Haymitch Abernathy’s time competing in the Hunger Games. While Woody Harrelson portrayed the adult Haymitch in the original Hunger Games films, Sunrise on the Reaping will show viewers how he won the games as a young man and became a victor from District 12.
Sunrise on the Reaping takes place 24 years before the events of The Hunger Games, focusing on the 50th Hunger Games – also known as the Second Quarter Quell. This installment featured twice as many tributes as usual. Though many fans think they know how Haymitch Abernathy won his Games, the new novel reveals there’s much more to the story. Clever viewers can even spot hints about these hidden details in the first trailer for the upcoming Hunger Games film.
Scheduled for release on November 20, 2026, Sunrise on the Reaping will feature Joseph Zada as a young Haymitch, alongside McKenna Grace as Maysilee Donner, Ralph Fiennes as President Snow, and Elle Fanning as a younger Effie Trinket. Francis Lawrence, who directed all the Hunger Games movies starting with Catching Fire, is returning as director.
Warning – This article contains spoilers for Sunrise on the Reaping.
Every Key Spoilers From Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping’s First Trailer
A New Arena
Fans of The Hunger Games know that a big part of what makes each installment exciting is finding out what the arena will be like. The Capitol designs a new and terrifying environment for the tributes to fight in each time, like the forest in the first Hunger Games and the clock-themed arena in Catching Fire.
In Sunrise on the Reaping, the 50th Hunger Games are held in a breathtaking arena built into the side of a mountain. It’s filled with colorful meadows and appears beautiful, but this beauty hides deadly dangers for the tributes.
The trailer for Sunrise on the Reaping gives a glimpse of the danger to come, showing the tributes assembling near the Cornucopia in a seemingly peaceful landscape of hills and mountains. A major surprise revealed in the trailer is that one of the mountains surrounding the arena is actually a hidden volcano, poised to erupt.
Haymitch Attempts to Destroy the Arena
Following Haymitch’s selection for the Games, a key storyline in Sunrise on the Reaping centers around a hidden effort by rebels to sabotage the arena. Haymitch becomes a vital participant in this scheme, secretly joining forces with Beetee and his son, Ampert, during the training period.
Once inside the arena, Haymitch’s initial task is to sabotage it by planting a bomb in the water supply. This would flood the arena and disable its computers. To do this, he needs to find a hidden entrance – a raised bank concealing access to the arena’s underground systems.
The trailer gives us a glimpse of what the arena entrances actually look like. We see Haymitch and Ampert standing above a small, flower-covered hill concealing a white structure that hides the entrance to the area beneath the arena. Later, Haymitch is shown lifting the covering, revealing the access point to the arena itself.
Haymitch and Maysilee’s Alliance
Even though only one person can win the Hunger Games, Haymitch forms an alliance with Maysilee Donner, the other tribute from District 12, in the book. They repeatedly save each other and work together to stay alive while competing in the arena, but ultimately, only one of them can win.
The trailer suggests a connection between Haymitch and Maysilee, showing them traveling together in the arena while still dressed as tributes.
Haymitch Grieves a Fellow Tribute
Because only one person can win the Hunger Games, tributes inevitably die. However, the way they die and how those deaths affect Haymitch – especially his own experiences in the arena – continue to be the most compelling and unexpected parts of Sunrise on the Reaping.
Haymitch has seen many of his allies die in the arena, and the trailer for the 2026 film shows District 12’s tribute grieving the loss of one of them. While it’s not confirmed, evidence suggests this fallen ally is Ampert, a twelve-year-old from District 3 who fought alongside Haymitch.
The trailer shows Haymitch apparently crying over a heap of clothes belonging to a fallen tribute, but we don’t see the body. In the book, Ampert is killed and completely stripped of flesh, leaving only his clothes and bones behind. This trailer scene might be hinting at Ampert’s violent death.
The Final Fight
As shown in Catching Fire, Haymitch won his Quarter Quell by being clever and discovering a weakness in the Capitol’s system, which he used to his advantage. He exploited this flaw in a final showdown against Silka from District 1.
The trailer suggests a brutal final showdown between Silka and Haymitch, showing Haymitch falling back as if attacked by someone with an axe – Silka’s signature weapon.
The Fate of Haymitch’s Family
When I first saw Haymitch in The Hunger Games, he seemed like just a hopeless alcoholic. But as the story unfolded, it became clear he was using alcohol to cope with some serious trauma. We learn that even though he won the Hunger Games, his rebellious spirit really angered President Snow, who retaliated by targeting everyone Haymitch loved – including his girlfriend, Lenore Dove, and his family. It was a cruel way to punish him, and it explained so much about why he was the way he was.
Haymitch’s victory in the Hunger Games is immediately followed by tragedy: he returns home to find his mother and brother have died in a house fire. The trailer briefly shows this heartbreaking moment, with Haymitch, still in his victor’s attire, being restrained from rushing into the burning building – presumably where his family perished. Showing this pivotal and devastating scene in the first trailer reveals a major plot point from the end of Sunrise on the Reaping and is a significant spoiler.
Watch the complete Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping trailer below:
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2025-12-04 03:06