‘Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping’ Is Officially Reuniting 3 Fan-Favorite Stars
Jennifer Lawrence has confirmed she will return as Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping, alongside Josh Hutcherson and Woody Harrelson. Their appearances reunite three stars from the original films and connect the new prequel to the wider franchise.
The film adapts Suzanne Collins’ fifth Hunger Games novel and follows Haymitch Abernathy during the 50th Games, the Second Quarter Quell. Its special rule requires each district to send twice the usual number of tributes. Joseph Zada plays the young Haymitch, with Francis Lawrence returning to direct; the returning characters appear in a story set after the original trilogy’s events.
In short
- Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson and Woody Harrelson return.
- The prequel follows Haymitch’s 50th Hunger Games.
- The Quarter Quell doubles each district’s tributes.
Explained simply
The Hunger Games is a series of novels by Suzanne Collins, adapted into films about a future country where young people are chosen to fight in a televised contest. Katniss Everdeen, played by Jennifer Lawrence in the original films, becomes a central figure in the story.
Sunrise on the Reaping follows Haymitch Abernathy as a young man during the 50th Games, a special contest in which each district must send twice its usual number of tributes. Joseph Zada plays Haymitch; Woody Harrelson played him as an adult in the earlier films.
The new story takes place before the original trilogy, while the returning characters appear in a later period. Their presence links the prequel to the wider series and gives audiences a connection between Haymitch’s earlier life and the events they may know from the original films.