‘Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping’ Movie: Screenwriter Billy Ray Set for Haymitch Prequel

variety.com:

Rebecca Rubin Senior Film and Media Reporter The odds were only kinda, sorta in the favor of CinemaCon attendees on Tuesday morning as Lionsgate unveiled a new logo for “The Hunger Games” prequel “Sunrise on the Reaping” to the annual trade show for movie theater owners but stopped short of offering any major details — such as cast or footage — about the new film.

At least one more familiar face will be returning to Panem. Billy Ray, who co-wrote the original “Hunger Games” as well as that iconic AMC ad with Nicole Kidman, has been tapped to write the screenplay for “The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping.” As previously announced, Francis Lawrence, who has helmed every “Hunger Games” installment since 2012’s “Catching Fire,” will direct the prequel sequel. “The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping” will be released in theaters on Nov.

20, 2026. “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 said at CinemaCon. “We start shooting in July.” Based on Suzanne Collins’ novel of the same name, “Sunrise on the Reaping” will revisit the world of Panem nearly a quarter of a century before the events of the original “Hunger Games” saga.

It starts on the morning of the reaping of the 50th Hunger Games, known as the Second Quarter Quell, in which Haymitch Abernathy (portrayed by Woody Harrelson in the original saga) entered the deadly arena.