Published Sep 22, 2026, 11:59 PM EDT
Fariba Rezwan is a Lead Editor for the Movie News team. She has been with ScreenRant for nearly five years, with roles ranging from list editor to junior news editor.
During that time, Fariba has led coverage for breaking movies and TV news, including Hunger Games, Marvel, and streaming. Additionally, she has actively provided commentary and reactions to the biggest movies and shows on her YouTube channel, The Movieception Show.
The Gamemakers promise the most violent Hunger Games in history.
The young adult franchise returns with a new prequel Sunrise on the Reaping, based on the same book written by Suzanne Collins. Haymitch Abernathy (Joseph Zada) becomes the tragic hero of his own games during the Second Quarter Quell, which doubled the number of tributes. Now, the countdown begins for the November release, as audiences will finally see how the District 12 victor won one of the most brutal Hunger Games in history.
FilmRatings.com finally confirmed the PG-13 rating for The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping. Although the previous movies got the PG-13 stamp for intense sequences and disturbing material, Sunrise on the Reaping was cautioned for bloody images, strong violence, and some smoking and teen drinking. In the franchise's history, that's the first to get these warnings, meaning the new prequel will be the most graphic installment.
Since Sunrise on the Reaping's 2025 publication, readers have speculated whether the movie would push for an R-rating to be faithful to the book's graphic details. The novel described extremely violent and brutal deaths, including one part where a tribute holds the head of a child, which would be nearly impossible to create for PG-13.
However, in an Entertainment Weekly profile, director Francis Lawrence confirmed that Sunrise on the Reaping would be PG-13, so some of the book's violent moments would be toned down. Meanwhile, he promised that the tragedy and trauma would "go full on."
"So there’s certain things she describes in the book that I could never put in the movies. There’s a character holding the head of a child at one point in the book, and that’s just not something you can do in a PG-13 movie."
Although the new prequel barely dodges the R-rating, the warning confirms that some book moments will be adapted. Collins' book described the arena in great detail as visually breathtaking, yet toxic on the surface. Despite the cotton candy-like clouds and colorful flowers, the landscape is lethal, with poisonous plants and water, and mutated killer animals.
Meanwhile, the caution addresses some smoking and teen drinking, which likely refers to Haymitch becoming dependent on alcohol due to the events of the Hunger Games and the tragic aftermath. This was well-established in the original Hunger Games movies, and Sunrise on the Reaping will show the root cause of his alcohol abuse.
Like Haymitch, much of the Sunrise on the Reaping cast features younger versions of known characters like Plutarch (Jesse Plemons), Wiress (Maya Hawke), Mags (Lili Taylor), Effie Trinket (Elle Fanning), and Beetee (Kelvin Harrison Jr.) Ben Wang, Mckenna Grace, Iona Bell, and Molly McCann play the remaining District 12 tributes. Reports also say Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson will reprise Katniss and Peeta Mellark, while Ralph Fiennes portrays a middle-aged President Snow.
The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping will be released on November 20, 2026.
Release Date November 20, 2026
Runtime 150 Minutes
Director Francis Lawrence
-
-
Joseph Zada
Haymitch Abernathy
-
Whitney Peak
Lenore Dove Baird
-
English (US) ·