On Monday, MCA revealed the 29-song tracklist for The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping album ahead of its Nov. 13 release. Pre-orders are now available.
The album is a who’s-who of Hollywood, with original Hunger Games star Jennifer Lawrence for “Deep in the Meadow” joined by Stevie Nicks for “Doing The Best That I Can (Arena Mix),” The Cure for “Alone (Live in Berlin 2022),” Noah Cyrus for “Ash and Snow,” Ella Langley for “Here Then We’re Gone,” and The Smashing Pumpkins for “Black Stars.” See the full tracklist below.
The trailer for Sunrise on the Reaping dropped last month and features a 16-year-old Haymitch Abernathy (Joseph Zada in the role later played by Woody Harrelson) preparing to compete in his own games. This is the sixth installment in the Hunger Games film franchise and the second prequel after the 2023 hit The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes
The clip also features younger familiar characters, including the nefarious President Coriolanus Snow (Ralph Fiennes taking over for Donald Sutherland), who delivers a dire threat: “How you die is all up to me.”
What the preview is missing, however, is any sign of returning stars Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson — Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark from the first four films. Reports surfaced late last year that the duo would reprise their roles in some capacity in the upcoming prequel, based on the 2025 book by Suzanne Collins.
Read on for everything to know about The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping.
THE PLOT
Sunrise on the Reaping is set 24 years before the events of The Hunger Games. It tells the story of the events of the 50th Hunger Games, an annual battle royale among young representatives from the districts of Panem, a post-apocalyptic nation governed by an authoritarian regime. This particular round is a Quarter Quell, which happens every 25 years and requires each district to send four players, known as Tributes, instead of the usual two. This is the second Quarter Quell.
Haymitch is the hero of this particular story, and one of four Tributes from District 12, the most impoverished and downtrodden district. During the game, he leads a rebellion against Gamemakers, who profit off the spectacle of suffering. It’s an origin story for how Haymitch became the jaded, bitter, and isolated man he was when Katniss first met him, and explains the spark that was dormant inside of him that Katniss’ rebellion reignited.
It follows the events of the first Hunger Games prequel, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, which tells the origin story of President Coriolanus Snow, 40 years prior.
THE CAST
The film’s cast includes:
- Joseph Zada will play Haymitch. According to producer Nina Jacobson, the role of young Haymitch was a challenging one to cast. “Nobody can be Woody Harrelson but Woody Harrelson,” she told Variety. “But you have to find that mischief that he has in him inherently and try to understand, if you turn back time from the man you meet at the beginning of The Hunger Games, who he was before all of that, and why he became that.”
- McKenna Grace will play Maysilee Donner, one of the three other Tributes from District 12.
- Whitney Peak will play Lenore Dove Baird, Haymitch’s girlfriend. She is a descendant of Lucy Gray Baird, played by Rachel Zegler in The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.
- Jesse Plemons will play Plutarch Heavensbee, the character originally played by the late Philip Seymour Hoffman in the original series, in what was his final film role. Plutarch is a future Head Gamemaker and a rebellion leader. In Sunrise on the Reaping, the young Plutarch Heavensbee resides in District 12, filming the reaping of the Tributes there.
- Elle Fanning will play Effie Trinket, a stylist played in the original series by Elizabeth Banks. In Sunrise on the Reaping, Effie serves as Haymitch’s stylist, getting him ready for the cameras and teaching him about image-making.
- Kieran Culkin will play Caesar Flickerman, the slimy but charismatic host of the Hunger Games’ TV broadcast. Stanley Tucci played the role in the original Hunger Games movies.
- Kelvin Harrison Jr. will play Beetee, a past victor from District 3. In Sunrise on the Reaping, his son is one of the District 3 Tributes, and he uses his skills as an electrician to help Haymitch and his allies sabotage the games. Jeffrey Wright played Beetee in the earlier films, where he continued his sabotage efforts.
- Maya Hawke will play Wiress, a Hunger Games victor from District 3 who serves as a mentor to the District 12 Tributes. In the earlier films, she was a tribute in the third Quarter Quell alongside her friend Beetee, and was played by Amanda Plummer.
- Lili Taylor will play Mags, another mentor and former Hunger Games winner. She was played in The Hunger Games: Catching Fire as an elderly, mute woman by Lynn Cohen.
- Ben Wang will play Wyatt Callow, District 12’s other male tribute. Wyatt comes from a family of bookmakers, so he knows when the odds are in his favor, and when they aren’t.
- Molly McCann is set to play District 12’s other female tribute, Louella, the youngest member of the quartet, a sweet girl who grew up down the street from Haymitch.
- Iona Bell will play Lou Lou, Louella’s Capitol-appointed lookalike.
- Ralph Fiennes will play President Coriolanus Snow, Panem’s tyrannical leader. Snow was previously played by Donald Sutherland in the original Hunger Games films and Tom Blyth in The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. This will be Fiennes’ second time playing the iconic villain of a massive young adult franchise; he previously played evil wizard Voldemort in the Harry Potter films. “We wanted to honor Donald Sutherland by having one of this generation’s greatest actors play President Snow 24 years before Katniss Everdeen entered the arena,” Jacobson said in a statement announcing Fiennes’ casting. “Working with Ralph has been on my bucket list since he traumatized me for life in Schindler’s List. It’s genuinely a thrill to welcome him to the Hunger Games.”
- Glenn Close will play Drusilla Sickle, the cruel escort to the District 12 Tributes. “Glenn Close is a dream Drusilla,” Jacobson said in a statement announcing the eight-time Academy Award nominee’s casting. “She brings so much of her intellect and imagination to each role, creating characters who are unforgettable and iconic. I think Glenn and Francis will have a ball bringing Drusilla from the page to the screen.”
- Billy Porter will play Magno Stift, Drusilla’s estranged husband and the Tributes’ uninspired fashion designer. “Billy is one of those rare performers who can dazzle and devastate in equal measure on stage and screen,” said Jacobson. “He made an indelible impression on me when we worked together on Pose, both as an actor and a human being.”
WHAT ABOUT KATNISS AND PEETA?
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson — Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark from the first four films — are returning to the franchise.
The report suggests that Lawrence and Hutcherson could appear in a flash-forward. The pair hasn’t been seen in Panem since 2015’s The Hunger Games: Mockingjay — Part 2. And considering that they’re appearing in a Haymitch-centric movie, Harrelson’s potential involvement seems like the next logical question.
THE ALBUM
The album for The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping will be released through MCA on Nov. 13. Here’s the tracklist:
- “The Raven I” – Whitney Peak
- “Ash and Snow” – Noah Cyrus
- “First in Line” – Stephen Wilson Jr
- “See It Coming” – Bella Kay
- “The Wheel” – Lizzy McAlpine
- “The Raven II” – Whitney Peak
- “Dove Song” – Sydney Rose
- “Here Then We’re Gone” – Ella Langley
- “Wrestle with God” – Madeline Edwards
- “Ruthless (Arena Mix)” – Kacey Musgraves
- “No Destination” – Billy Vincent
- “The Raven III” – Whitney Peak
- “Favor” – Gigi Perez
- “But You Wanted More” – Hudson Freeman
- “Black Stars” – The Smashing Pumpkins
- “Half Alive” – Mckenna Grace
- “Doing The Best That I Can (Arena Mix)” – Stevie Nicks
- “The Goose and The Common” – Whitney Peak
- “Survive (Arena Mix | KÁRYYN Rework)” – Depeche Mode & KÁRYYN
- “Same Blood” – Emelie Trahan
- “May Brings Flowers” – Kashus Culpepper
- “The Old Therebefore” – Scot Greenan
- “Can’t Let You Go” – Carter Faith
- “Old Money” – Tyler Childers
- “Show Me Where The Ending Starts” – Madison Cunningham
- “Deep in the Meadow” – Jennifer Lawrence
- “Draw You Out” – Noah Kahan
- “Metal Birds” – Violet Grohl
- “Alone (Live in Berlin 2022)” – The Cure
THE CREATIVES
Like every Hunger Games movie since Catching Fire, Sunrise on the Reaping is being directed by Francis Lawrence. The screenplay is by Billy Ray, who previously cowrote the script for the first installment of The Hunger Games movie. Brad Simpson and Nina Jacobson of Color Force produce it.
THE TRAILERS
On Sept. 16, Lionsgate released a two-minute trailer for The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping that opens with Woody Harrelson’s voiceover from the prior films: “Nobody ever wins the Games. Period. There are survivors. There’s no winners.” The video establishes the world of Panem 24 years before the events of The Hunger Games, as Haymitch is introduced to the iconic arena.
The initial teaser was released on Nov. 20, 2025:
THE RELEASE DATE
The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping is slated to open in theaters on Nov. 20.
Originally published on April 25, 2025; updated on Sept. 16, 2026 with the new trailer.
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