Overview
- Lionsgate has slated the film for a November 20, 2026 theatrical release, according to trade reports.
- Francis Lawrence returns to direct from a screenplay by Billy Ray, with Nina Jacobson and Brad Simpson producing for Color Force.
- Set around the reaping for the 50th Hunger Games roughly 24 years before Katniss’s story, the film centers on a teenage Haymitch Abernathy played by Joseph Zada.
- Reporting indicates Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson will make brief, tightly controlled appearances that serve as a timeline bridge rather than a shift in focus.
- The ensemble includes Ralph Fiennes as President Snow, Jesse Plemons as Plutarch Heavensbee, Kelvin Harrison Jr. as Beetee, Kieran Culkin as Caesar Flickerman, Elle Fanning as Effie Trinket, and also features Glenn Close, Mckenna Grace, Maya Hawke and Whitney Peak.