Lionsgate Reveals Title and Logo for Hunger Games Prequel at CinemaCon

LAS VEGAS, April 1, 2025 — Lionsgate unveiled the logo for its upcoming prequel, “The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping,” during a presentation at CinemaCon on Tuesday morning. While the studio provided limited details regarding cast and plot, it confirmed that filming will commence this summer.

The short teaser shared with attendees featured visuals of a mockingjay engulfed in flames that transitions into a snake, both significant symbols within the Hunger Games universe. The clip ended with Woody Harrelson, who portrays Haymitch Abernathy, delivering the ominous voiceover, “I think these games are going to be different.”

Francis Lawrence, who directed every installment of the original series starting with 2013’s “Catching Fire,” will helm the prequel, based on the novel by Suzanne Collins, which was published earlier this month. “We’re really just getting into the casting process right now. We’re very excited. We’ve been working on this draft for a year,” Lawrence told the audience. “We start shooting in July.”

“Sunrise on the Reaping” is set 24 years before the events of the original trilogy and will follow the morning of the 50th Hunger Games, known as the Second Quarter Quell. Haymitch Abernathy, serving as a mentor in the original series to Jennifer Lawrence’s Katniss Everdeen, will be a focal point of the new film.

The previous prequel film, “The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes,” released in 2023, was a commercial success grossing $348 million globally. This film explored the life of a young Coriolanus Snow, decades before he becomes the oppressive leader of Panem. As a franchise, “The Hunger Games” has generated over $3.3 billion at the worldwide box office, with “Catching Fire” being the highest-grossing entry at $865 million.

Billy Ray, the Oscar-nominated screenwriter and writer of the original Hunger Games adaptation, is returning to pen the script for “Sunrise on the Reaping.” Lionsgate’s motion picture chair, Adam Fogelson, noted the book’s compelling plot twist, which has excited the studio and fans alike.

The film is slated for theatrical release on November 20, 2026, promising a return to the dystopian world that captivated millions in the original trilogy.