The Hunger Games franchise continues thanks to the genius that Suzanne Collins is! Fans had been asking the author for a Haymitch Abernathy story for years, and she delivered. Now that the movie is set for a 2026 release with a fresh cast, new fans are wondering what Sunrise on the Reaping is and when exactly it takes place in Panem’s history.

Below, Hollywood Life unpacks all the details you need to know about Sunrise on the Reaping, from its setting to its time period, and the book’s ending.

Is The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping a Prequel?

Yes, Sunrise on the Reaping is a prequel story to the original Hunger Games trilogy. SOTR focuses on Haymitch’s backstory before he meets Katniss Everdeen as her District 12 mentor.

When Does Sunrise on the Reaping Take Place? The Setting

Sunrise on the Reaping takes place in District 12 and the Capitol 24 years before Katniss meets Haymitch. The book is set during the 50th Hunger Games, otherwise known as the second Quarter Quell in Panem’s history.

How Old Is Haymitch in Sunrise on the Reaping?

Haymitch is 16 years old in Sunrise on the Reaping. In the original Hunger Games trilogy, Katniss meets him when he’s about 40 years old.

How Does Sunrise on the Reaping End? Book Ending Explained

The film will follow the book as closely as possible, as fans have seen with its predecessors, including The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. So, Sunrise on the Reaping‘s ending will, without a doubt, break every audience’s hearts. (Warning: spoilers are ahead for Sunrise on the Reaping. Proceed with caution.) 

The Sunrise on the Reaping book ends with Haymitch winning the 50th Hunger Games, but he angered President Coriolanus Snow with his attempts to defy the Capitol in the arena. So, in true Snow fashion, the authoritarian president finds a way to hurt those closest to Haymitch. This would be his family and his girlfriend, Lenore Dove, back home in District 12, who is a part of the Covey.

Lenore Dove is no stranger to rebellion. The character — who is a part of the same group that President Snow’s former girlfriend, Lucy Gray Baird, hailed from — has gotten herself into trouble several times and is even arrested before Haymitch enters the Games. When he returns home, the happy couple have a sweet, emotional reunion, and Lenore Dove brings the bag of gumdrops that Haymitch gifted her before he went to the Capitol. Only that’s not the same bag of candy he gave her; it’s poison. Haymitch quickly figures it out, but can’t save Lenore Dove from a heartbreaking death. Meanwhile, his family and his entire home were also burned down.

Haymitch mourns his late girlfriend and family and becomes the same drunk Katniss meets 24 years later.

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