Lionsgate Taps Fan Editor for Official ‘Sunrise on the Reaping’ Trailer

Young Haymitch Abernathy holds a dagger in a misty arena landscape in a Sunrise on the Reaping promotional image — Lionsgate via BroadwayWorld

Summary

Lionsgate released an official fan-edit trailer for The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping on Oct. 9.
The studio collaborated with fan editor Areq, who debuted previously unseen footage in a fan-style cut.
The film follows young Haymitch Abernathy during the 50th Hunger Games, the Second Quarter Quell.
Sunrise on the Reaping is scheduled to open in theaters and IMAX on Nov. 20.

A fan edit becomes part of the campaign

Lionsgate has given a fan editor an official role in the marketing of its next Hunger Games film. On Oct. 9, the studio released a fan-edit trailer for The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping, created in collaboration with online editor Areq. The studio described the release as a first for one of its major motion-picture campaigns: a fan editor was entrusted with debuting a clip from the film that had not been seen before.^{[1] [2] [3]}

The cut adopts the fast transitions and compressed pacing familiar from social-media fan edits, rather than presenting itself as another conventional plot trailer. Its new footage features Glenn Close as Capitol escort Drusilla Sickle and Mckenna Grace as District 12 tribute Maysilee Donner. The collaboration puts a fan creator’s editing style beside studio-shot material, while the film’s official account framed the trailer as a new way to introduce the story to its audience.^{[1] [2] [3]}

The release arrived in the run-up to New York Comic Con and about six weeks before the movie’s theatrical debut. Lionsgate’s official campaign identifies the film as opening in theaters and IMAX on Nov. 20. The fan-edit trailer followed the September release of a more traditional full trailer, giving the studio another promotional format for the same film rather than announcing a change to its release plan.^{[1] [2] [4]}

Haymitch’s story returns to the arena

Sunrise on the Reaping revisits Panem 24 years before the events of the original Hunger Games. It centers on a young Haymitch Abernathy, played by Joseph Zada, beginning on the day he is selected for the 50th Games, also known as the Second Quarter Quell. In the story, the Capitol’s anniversary rule sends 48 tributes into the arena—twice the usual number—and Haymitch forms an alliance with Maysilee as he looks for a way to resist the system.^{[2] [3] [4]}

The ensemble also includes Ralph Fiennes as President Snow, Jesse Plemons as Plutarch Heavensbee, Elle Fanning as a younger Effie Trinket, Kieran Culkin as Caesar Flickerman and Maya Hawke as Wiress. Francis Lawrence, who directed several earlier franchise films, returns to direct. The picture adapts Suzanne Collins’ 2025 novel and is the sixth film in the series, following 2023’s The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes.^{[2] [3] [4]}

The unusual trailer format gives the franchise’s online fan community a visible part in a campaign built around a familiar fictional world. It does not alter the story’s premise or the announced theatrical date, but it makes fan editing itself part of the promotion. With the film due Nov. 20, the release adds a new piece of official footage while placing Areq’s style at the center of the reveal.^{[1] [2] [3]}

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