New SUNRISE ON THE REAPING Trailer Reveals the Brutal Story That Broke Haymitch Abernathy

The new trailer for The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping is here, and Haymitch Abernathy’s trip into the arena looks every bit as brutal as readers are expecting. We already know Haymitch survives the Second Quarter Quell. The real question is what surviving costs him.

The Hunger Games franchise has delivered plenty of painful deaths over the years. Rue, Prim, and Finnick Odair are among the characters whose fates hit fans hard, but Suzanne Collins pushed the tragedy even further with Sunrise on the Reaping.

The story follows a young Haymitch after he is selected for the Second Quarter Quell, a particularly horrific edition of the Hunger Games that doubles the number of tributes. Nearly 50 kids are sent into the arena to fight to the death.

That makes Sunrise on the Reaping one of the franchise’s most violent stories, but the real horror goes far beyond the arena. Haymitch’s life before and after the Games is filled with loss, and the new trailer gives audiences a taste of just how painful his story will become.

It also shows a version of Haymitch that is very different from the man fans originally met in The Hunger Games.

When Haymitch first appeared, he came across as an apathetic and often harsh mentor to Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark. It soon became clear that there was much more going on with him. He fought to secure sponsors for Katniss and later put himself in danger to protect Katniss, Peeta, and Gale in The Hunger Games: Catching Fire.

Sunrise on the Reaping goes back further and reveals how fiercely Haymitch opposed the Capitol long before Katniss became the Mockingjay. The trailer leans into that side of the character, showing a young man willing to fight back against the system controlling Panem. His actions helped lay the groundwork for the revolution that would come years later.

President Snow makes sure Haymitch pays for what happens in the arena, and the punishment reaches far beyond the Games themselves. Snow’s history with District 12, explored in The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, adds another layer to that conflict.

By the time Sunrise on the Reaping reaches its end, audiences will understand exactly why the older Haymitch became the broken, cynical man introduced in The Hunger Games. He survives his Games, but he loses virtually everything he cares about along the way.

For fans who already know what’s coming, this trailer is basically a warning to prepare for some rough stuff. For everyone else, Haymitch Abernathy’s story could completely change how they see one of the franchise’s most important characters.

The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping opens in theaters November 20th. I’ve looking forward to watching this! It looks great!