The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping tells fans the story of young Haymitch Abernathy (Joseph Zada) in the second Quarter Quell. Originally played by Woody Harrelson, Haymitch mentored Katniss and Peeta in the 74th Hunger Games, and though he eventually warmed up to them, it was clear he had a hard shell from the trauma he endured in the past. In the next movie in the series, viewers will understand why. The second trailer gives us another glimpse of what’s coming this November in Francis Lawrence’s Sunrise on the Reaping, and at the sheer violence of the latest movie in the franchise.
Sunrise on the Reaping exudes brutality in latest trailer
While viewers get an idea of Haymitch’s past in the original Hunger Games trilogy, his story is only fully fleshed out in Sunrise on the Reaping. Haymitch was a participant in the second Quarter Quell. These special editions of the games are held every 25 years and are particularly brutal, with a malicious twist to spice things up. The second Quarter Quell had twice as many tributes, bringing it to 48 in total, which significantly lowered the tributes’ chances of survival.
Lawrence’s adaptation of Sunrise on the Reaping is doing its best to capture the violence depicted in Suzanne Collins’ book, which might have the goriest scenes we’ve seen in the series to date. Filmed in a beautiful natural park in Spain, the picturesque setting gives off the idea that it might not be that bad after all, but looks can be deceiving, and that is exactly the case here. As we get deeper into the trailer, it becomes clear that everything in it is designed to harm the tributes, from the water in the stream to the squirrels climbing trees and the butterflies gracefully flying by. As Effie Trinket (Elle Fanning) puts it, “The arena, it’s a killing machine.”
There are several heart-wrenching death scenes in Sunrise on the Reaping, as per usual in the Hunger Games series — there can only be one winner — but this prequel truly takes it up a notch. As Haymitch gets closer to his fellow tributes and witnesses their deaths, it becomes increasingly obvious to him what President Snow (Ralph Fiennes) and those in the Capitol are capable of. They massacre children to demonstrate power and keep others submissive. Of course, this only fuels those willing to defy authority.
The revolution reaches its conclusion in Mockingjay, but Sunrise on the Reaping is part of its beginning. Fans can witness Haymitch’s heartbreaking story in The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping once it hits theaters on Nov. 20, 2027.