“The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping” has found its leads. Joseph Zada will star as District 12 tribute Haymitch Abernathy, while Whitney Peak will play his girlfriend Lenore Dove Baird.
The Lionsgate film, based on the bestselling novel of the same name by “Hunger Games” author Suzanne Collins, takes place 40 years after the events of prequel “The Ballads of Songbirds & Snakes” and 24 years before Katniss Everdeen’s time in the arena.
“Sunrise on the Reaping” will be released on Nov. 20, 2026. Francis Lawrence, who has helmed every installment of the franchise since 2012’s “Catching Fire,” will direct from a screenplay adaptation by Billy Ray. Color Force’s Nina Jacobson and Brad Simpson will produce. Cameron MacConomy will executive produce.
Published on March 18, “Sunrise on the Reaping” revisits the world of Panem 24 years before the events of “The Hunger Games,” starting on the morning of the reaping of the 50th Hunger Games, also known as the Second Quarter Quell.
Zada will next be seen in Prime Video series “We Were Liars,” which premieres this June. He also just completed production for Netflix’s “East of Eden,” in which he stars alongside Florence Pugh, Mike Faist, Martha Plimpton, Tracy Letts and Chris Abbott. Zoe Kazan has written and is executive producing the seven-episode limited series based on the 1952 John Steinbeck novel. Zada currently stars in the lead role of Charlie in the upcoming Stan Australia Original Series “Invisible Boys,” based on the bestselling novel by Holden Sheppard.
Peak will next be seen as the lead in Sony Pictures’ upcoming shark thriller “Shiver” opposite Phoebe Dynevor. She will also star alongside Liam Neeson and Teresa Palmer in “4 Kids Walk into a Bank” for Amazon MGM’s Orion label. She is best known for her starring role on Max’s reboot of “Gossip Girl,” playing Zoya Lott. She also appeared in “Hocus Pocus 2” opposite Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimi. Peak is currently a global Chanel ambassador: in 2023, she was named the newest face of the Coco Mademoiselle fragrance, making her the first Black face of a Chanel scent.
“’The Hunger Games’ franchise has long been a launching pad for remarkable young actors, and Jo and Whitney carry that legacy forward with incredible heart, depth, and fire,” said Lionsgate Motion Picture Group co-president Erin Westerman. “After auditioning hundreds of gifted performers from around the world, these two stood out—not just for their talent, but for the emotional truth they brought to these iconic roles. Haymitch has always been a fan favorite, and his origin story is one of the most anticipated in the franchise. His relationship with Lenore Dove is deeply woven into the emotional history of Panem. We can’t wait for fans to experience the story that shaped one of the most compelling characters in the series.”
“Deb Zane and Dylan Jury oversaw an exhaustive (and exhausting!) search to find a young actor with the skill and imagination to embody young Haymitch,” added Jacobson. “Jo prepared like crazy and stole our hearts. Then Whitney took our breath away as Lenore Dove. When we put the two of them together, it was one of those magical casting moments when you know your search has led you home.”
The five films in “The Hunger Games” franchise have taken in over $3.3 billion at the box office and attracted acclaimed talent including Viola Davis, Julianne Moore and Donald Sutherland.
Jacobson opened up to Variety earlier this year about the unique challenge of casting a young Haymitch, portrayed by Woody Harrelson in the original four films. “Nobody can be Woody Harrelson but Woody Harrelson,” she said. “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.”
“Sunrise on the Reaping” sold 1.5 million copies in its first week on sale in the U.S., U.K., Ireland, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. The 1.2 million copies sold in the U.S. are twice the first week sales of “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes,” and three times the first week sales of original trilogy-ender “Mockingjay.”
Meredith Wieck and Scott O’Brien are overseeing the project for Lionsgate. Robert Melnik negotiated the deals for the studio.
Zada is represented by CAA, Untitled Entertainment, RGM and Goodman, Genow, Schenkman, Smelkinson & Christopher. Peak is repped by CAA, Canopy Media Partners, Play Management, The Initiative Group, and Jackoway Austen Tyerman Wertheimer Mandelbaum Morris Bernstein Trattner Auerbach Hynick Jaime LeVine Sample & Klein.
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