Let the 50th Annual Hunger Games begin! The first teaser trailer for the forthcoming The Hunger Games prequel, Sunrise on the Reaping, is here, and with it, a look at one of the deadliest games in Panem’s history.
Set 24 years before the events of the original trilogy of films, Sunrise on the Reaping is both an origin story for District 12’s Haymitch Abernathy (Joseph Zada, originally played by Woody Harrelson) and a deft study of the long-tail impact of propaganda. It revolves around the Second Quarter Quell, a special anniversary edition of the Hunger Games that takes place every 25 years and constantly shifts the rules for selecting those who must participate. The Quarter Quell in Catching Fire, for example, features former victors as competitors. This version goes for the violent promise of simple volume, reaping nearly 50 tributes (who let’s not forget, are children) to fight to the death.
Since fans already know that Haymitch goes on to win his Games—and is subsequently ruined by his victory—everything about this story has a decidedly tragic air from the jump, as horror after horror piles up in ways that complicate many of our assumptions about what we thought to be true in the original Hunger Games trilogy.
Though it’s brief, the trailer looks great, promising a bigger, badder, meaner Games than ever before and including shots of dozens of terrified participants, desperate hugging, and soundless screams all set against a gorgeously verdant backdrop that hides lethal secrets, not to mention an active volcano. We get quick glimpses of Haymitch’s District 12 teammates: Maysilee Donner (Mckenna Grace), Wyatt Callow (Ben Wang), and Louella McCoy (Molly McCann), as well as fan favorite Ampert Latier (Percy Daggs IV), the son of a well-known former Games competitor.
