The Hunger Games franchise is returning to Panem with Sunrise on the Reaping, a prequel based on Suzanne Collins’ upcoming novel. This new story will focus on Haymitch Abernathy, the fan-favorite character from the original series. While readers wait for the book’s release on March 18, director Francis Lawrence is already working behind the scenes.
In a chat with Collider’s Maggie Lovitt about the upcoming Constantine 4K UHD release, Lawrence shared updates on the film’s progress, his excitement, and the tricky task of casting a movie before the book is even out.
After the success of The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, which explored a young Coriolanus Snow’s journey, Lawrence is eager to dive back into the Hunger Games world. His enthusiasm was clear as he discussed the film’s schedule.
Advertisement Yeah, I’m shooting that this year. So we’ve actually just sort of started prep. The book comes out mid-March. We’ve sort of got a research phase of prep. After London, I’m going to go on a scout, and then we start prepping in April, and we shoot this year,
Lawrence revealed
Bringing The Hunger Games back to Panem is a big challenge, but for director Francis Lawrence, it’s also an exciting opportunity to team up again with producer Nina Jacobson and author Suzanne Collins.
I’m really, really excited for it. It’s always great to go back and to work with Nina [Jacobson] and Suzanne Collins, It’s such a great world and great stories and great, always super relevant thematics, which always ground it. But, yeah, very, very excited.
he shared
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Lawrence has been part of the franchise for years, directing Catching Fire, Mockingjay Part 1 and 2, and the latest Hunger Games movie in 2023, which starred Rachel Zegler and Tom Blyth.
One of the biggest questions about Sunrise on the Reaping is who will play the young Haymitch Abernathy. Since a de-aged Woody Harrelson isn’t an option, fans are eager to see who takes on the role. However, director Francis Lawrence shared that casting is still in the early stages because of a unique challenge—the book hasn’t been released yet.
I will say it’s, like, it’s tricky because, you know, the book’s not out, so only people know generally what it’s about. I think there was an excerpt that was put out, and Suzanne maybe has a quote out there about what the thematics are. So we’re, like, we’re researching a little, but yeah, like, we can’t put, you know, scenes out or anything like that, yet.
Sunrise on the Reaping will hit theaters on November 20, 2026. Stay tuned for more from Lawrence’s chat with Lovitt, where he shares updates on his Bioshock movie and the long-awaited Constantine sequel. Constantine arrives in 4K UHD on February 18, and you can pre-order it now.