The odds are looking ever in Australia’s favour as The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping launches its global press tour in Sydney, with Australian actor Joseph Zada and Mckenna Grace arriving to promote the highly anticipated next chapter in the blockbuster franchise.
Directed by franchise veteran Francis Lawrence and adapted from Suzanne Collins’ bestselling novel, Sunrise on the Reaping takes audiences back to Panem, 24 years before the events of the original Hunger Games, to explore the story of a young Haymitch Abernathy, played by Zada.
Set during the 50th Annual Hunger Games, otherwise known as the Second Quarter Quell, the film follows 16-year-old Haymitch as he’s selected to compete in a particularly brutal edition of the competition, with twice the usual number of tributes forced into the arena.
Among those fighting for survival is fellow District 12 tribute Maysilee Donner (Grace), who forms an unlikely alliance with Haymitch as they become involved in a dangerous attempt to undermine the Capitol’s authority. With President Snow (Ralph Fiennes) maintaining his grip on Panem, Haymitch finds himself caught between the instinct to survive and an opportunity to challenge the very system responsible for the Games.
Expanding on the history of one of the franchise’s most beloved characters, Sunrise on the Reaping promises to explore the experiences that shaped Haymitch long before audiences came to know him as Katniss Everdeen’s reluctant mentor.
Joining Zada, Grace and Fiennes is an impressive ensemble that includes Jesse Plemons, Glenn Close, Kieran Culkin, Elle Fanning, Maya Hawke, Whitney Peak and Kelvin Harrison Jr.
The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping arrives in Australian theatres on November 19th, 2026.
