The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping author Suzanne Collins review, Digi Mart USA News: With one week to go before The Hunger Games returns to theaters with its second prequel movie, author Suzanne Collins has offered her opinion of the adaptation. In a lengthy “letter to the fans” released by Lionsgate, Collins said she could not be more excited for audiences to see the film.
Collins described the movie as a “vibrant and devastating adaptation” of her 2025 novel, which the film is based on. She praised director Francis Lawrence, who has directed every Hunger Games movie since Catching Fire and also serves as a third producer, saying he maintained the book’s narrative and themes while bringing his own distinctive style.
Collins reserved special praise for Woody Harrelson, who returns to reprise his role as Haymitch, and for the original stars Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson. She said Harrelson’s earlier performance had been pitch perfect and that the prequel’s focus on Haymitch’s youth had been easier to write because of it.
Collins also praised the new cast, led by Joseph Zada, and named a range of performers including Mckenna Grace, Ben Wang, Maya Hawke, Kelvin Harrison Jr, Glenn Close, Ralph Fiennes, Jesse Plemons, Elle Fanning and Kieran Culkin. Early reactions to the film have described it as “near-perfect” and compared it to Andor.
Sunrise on the Reaping is set 24 years before the events of The Hunger Games and begins on the morning of the reaping for the 50th Hunger Games, also known as the Second Quarter Quell. Lawrence directs from a screenplay by Billy Ray and Michael Lesslie.
The movie opens in theaters on November 20.
