The Best Dystopian Sci-Fi Franchise Drops Perfect First Look at 'Stranger Things' and 'Succession' Stars in New Prequel

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Published Apr 10, 2026, 5:28 PM EDT

Ryan O'Rourke is a Senior News Writer at Collider with a specific interest in all things adult animation, video game adaptations, and the work of Mike Flanagan. He is also an experienced baseball writer with over six years of articles between multiple outlets, most notably FanSided's CubbiesCrib. Whether it's taking in a baseball game, a new season of Futurama or Castlevania: Nocturne, or playing the latest From Software title, he is always finding ways to show his fandom. When it comes to gaming and anything that takes inspiration from it, he is deeply opinionated on what's going on. Outside of entertainment, he's a graduate of Eureka College with a Bachelor's in Communication where he honed his craft as a writer. Between The IV Leader at Illinois Valley Community College and The Pegasus at Eureka, he spent the majority of his college career publishing articles on everything from politics to campus happenings and, of course, entertainment for the student body. Those principles he learned covering the 2020 election, Palestine, and so much more are brought here to Collider, where he has gleefully written on everything from the SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes to Nathan Lane baby-birding sewer boys.

With just over seven months left until The Hunger Games franchise returns to theaters with the prequel, Sunrise on the Reaping, Lionsgate is asking viewers to "remember." A new video has been released that looks back on the history of the deadly games, from the 10th iteration featuring a young Coriolanus Snow and depicted in The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, to the fateful "76th" competition that never came to be after the death of President Coin. At the very end, however, it flashes back to the days of the 50th games with a preview of what's to come when a young Haymitch Abernathy (Joseph Zada) competes. Included in the footage from Francis Lawrence's latest installment is the first official look at a few characters from the original trilogy, directly compared to their past selves.

Last but not least is Zada, as the man of the hour, Haymitch. He's juxtaposed with Woody Harrelson, who iconically played Katniss and Peeta's mentor in the original trilogy. Sunrise on the Reaping will finally tell his story of conquering the 50th Hunger Games, beginning in Panem on the morning of the reaping, 24 years before Katniss's story began. Lawrence is directing from a script penned by Billy Ray based on Suzanne Collins' latest novel in the series, released last March. It's set to shine a greater light on the totalitarian world as it existed when Haymitch was forced to compete, and how the games themselves have evolved with time.