The first trailer for the next Hunger Games film, Sunrise on the Reaping, has already revealed several spoilers from the book. The 2026 instalment in Lionsgate's film franchise adapts Suzanne Collins' latest novel, which follows Haymitch Abernathy's Hunger Games. Woody Harrelson played Haymitch as an adult in the mainline Hunger Games movies, but in Sunrise on the Reaping, fans finally learn how the District 12 citizen became a victor.
Set 24 years before Katniss Everdeen's first Hunger Games, Sunrise on the Reaping explores the events of the Second Quarter Quell, aka the 50th Hunger Games, which saw double the number of tributes reaped. While some may think they know the outcome of Haymitch's games, there's far more than meets the eye, as confirmed in Collins' novel, and several of these hints and clues can be spotted in the new Hunger Games film's first trailer, if you know what to look for.
Sunrise on the Reaping is due to release on November 20, 2026. It stars Joseph Zada as 16-year-old Haymitch, McKenna Grace as Maysilee Donner, Ralph Fiennes as President Coriolanus Snow, and Elle Fanning as a younger Effie Trinket. Francis Lawrence, the director of all the Hunger Games films since Catching Fire, returns to direct the 2026 film.
Warning - This article contains spoilers for Sunrise on the Reaping.
Every Key Spoilers From Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping's First Trailer
A New Arena
As Hunger Games fans will know, one of the key exciting reveals in any of the games is uncovering what kind of arena the tributes will be competing in. The Capitol cooks up fresh horrors to test its tributes in the deadly battle royale, creating a new arena with each games, which resulted in The Hunger Games' forest-filled arena, and Catching Fire's clock-inspired map.
In Sunrise on the Reaping, the 50th Hunger Games take place in a stunning mountainside arena, outfitted with meadows, vibrant colors, and beauty at every turn. As it turns out, this beauty conceals horror, and every element of this picture-perfect arena ultimately proves deadly to the tributes.
Some of this deadliness is revealed in Sunrise on the Reaping's trailer, as the footage shows the tributes gathered around the Cornucopia among the idyllic rolling hills and mountain ranges. One of the major spoilers revealed in the trailer about the arena is that one of the mountains bordering the map is secretly a volcano waiting to erupt.
Haymitch Attempts to Destroy the Arena
After Haymitch is reaped, one of the major plot threads in Sunrise on the Reaping is the rebellion's secret attempt to destroy the arena. Haymitch is a crucial part of this plan, signing on in secret during the training sessions, with Beetee and his son, Ampert, as allies.
Haymitch's first mission once he enters the arena is to find a way to infiltrate the arena's water supply and plant a bomb that will destroy it, flooding the arena and its computer systems. To do this, Haymitch has to locate a berm that conceals an entry point to the bowels of the arena.
The trailer reveals what one of these entrances looks like in reality, with Haymitch and Ampert shown overlooking a small flowery hill with a white mass that hides the entrance to the arena's underlayer. A later scene shows Haymitch lifting the lid of the berm and unveiling the arena's access channel.
Haymitch and Maysilee's Alliance
Despite there only being one winner in the Hunger Games, Haymitch eventually allows himself to ally with fellow District 12 tribute Maysilee Donner in the book. The two save each other's lives and help each other to survive multiple times during their period in the arena, but there can only be one victor in the end.
A hint at Haymitch and Maysilee's alliance can be found in the trailer, with the duo seen travelling with each other through the arena in their tribute clothing.
Haymitch Grieves a Fellow Tribute
With only one winner, it's a certainty that tributes die in the Hunger Games, but it's the manner of their deaths and how they impact Haymitch and his time in the arena that remain surprising throughout Sunrise on the Reaping.
Unfortunately, Haymitch experiences many tragic deaths of allies in the arena, and a shot of the District 12 tribute mourning one of his own is sighted in the 2026 film's trailer. It's unclear who exactly this is, but signs point to it being Ampert, Haymitch's 12-year-old ally from District 3.
In the scene, Haymitch seems to be weeping over a pile of white tribute's clothes, without a physical body being seen. In the book, Ampert is killed by mutts and then has his flesh picked clean, leaving only his clothes and a pile of bones as his remains. This scene in the trailer could be foreshadowing Ampert's gruesome demise.
The Final Fight
As was detailed in the novel Catching Fire, Haymitch ended up winning the Quarter Quell by outsmarting the other tributes and finding a flaw in the Capitol's system that he could use to his own gain. He does this in the final moments against the last remaining tribute, District 1's Silka.
A hint at Silka and Haymitch's vicious final fight is included in the trailer, as Haymitch is shown stumbling away from an unseen figure wielding an axe - the weapon Silka is notorious for using.
The Fate of Haymitch's Family
When fans meet Haymitch in the original Hunger Games trilogy, he is a notorious drunk, but it soon becomes clear that he is attempting to block out the pain of his past. Despite winning the Hunger Games, Haymitch's defiance of the Capitol leads to President Snow punishing him with his special brand of torture - hurting Haymitch's family and his girlfriend, Lenore Dove.
When Haymitch returns from the games victorious, it's to find that his mother and brother have been burned alive in a house fire. This scene is briefly shown in the trailer, where Haymitch, in his Victor's clothing, is seen being held back from entering a burning house, which presumably contains his dying family members. This scene takes place right at the end of Sunrise on the Reaping, so it's a major spoiler to include in the film's first trailer.
Watch the complete Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping trailer below:
