The trailer for The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping promises the most colorful, beautiful Hunger Games yet. But fans of Suzanne Collins’s book series know something much darker (and emotionally devastating) lurks right below the surface.
Directed by Francis Lawrence, who’s helmed every Hunger Games film but the first, this prequel follows Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark’s mentor Haymitch Abernathy as he braves the 50th Hunger Games, also known as the Second Quarter Quell. Each Quarter Quell comes with a new sadistic twist, and this one’s is especially painful. Instead of 24 young tributes competing in the Capitol’s elaborate death match, there will be 48.
The trailer introduces the four District 12 tributes who will be heading into the arena: Haymitch, wealthy Maysilee Donner (Mckenna Grace), oddsmaker Wyatt Callow (Ben Wang), and young Louella McCoy (Molly McCann). Another key District 12 figure to keep your eye on is Lenore Dove Baird (Whitney Peak), Haymitch’s beloved and a member of the Covey introduced in The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.
Sunrise on the Reaping‘s trailer also features glimpses of familiar faces from The Hunger Games trilogy. President Snow (Ralph Fiennes) is still terrorizing District 12 tributes, Plutarch Heavensbee (Jesse Plemons) is laying the groundwork for the rebellion that will come 25 years later, and Caesar Flickerman (Kieran Culkin) is bringing sparkles and showmanship to the Hunger Games media coverage. Plus, Effie Trinket (Elle Fanning) is finding her calling as a tribute stylist, and District 3 victor Wiress (Maya Hawke) continues to find ways to exploit the arena’s machinery.
For a closer look at all these characters, as well as an unrecognizable Glenn Close as Capitol escort Drusilla Sickle, check out the full trailer above.
The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping hits theaters Nov. 20.
