Early reactions to “The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping” are glowing, with critics at the film’s London premiere calling it the best entry in the franchise and singling out newcomer Joseph Zada. Lionsgate screened the prequel at a Westfield red-carpet event Wednesday and invited attendees to post brief takes online. Full reviews remain under embargo. Critic Nikita Francois of Nerds of Color called it “easily the best film” in the series and described Zada as electrifying. Perri Nemiroff of Collider praised the craftsmanship and cast, then predicted a big future for him: “This is only the beginning for Zada.”
Zada, an Australian actor, plays the teenage Haymitch Abernathy, the 50th Hunger Games champion whom Woody Harrelson portrays in the original films. Critic Griffin Schiller compared the film to “Rogue One” and “Andor,” calling it a sobering story about the cost of rebellion, and said Zada’s performance may rank among the franchise’s best, behind only Jennifer Lawrence. Others highlighted Glenn Close and the supporting cast.
The picture is not unanimous in its details. One viewer said the third act surprises, while another credited the production design with keeping familiar beats from going stale. A third critic noted that audiences have seen this kind of story before. Social media reactions from invited guests tend to lean positive by design, so the verdict will rest on the reviews that follow.
Francis Lawrence directs, returning to the world he shaped across four earlier films. The story adapts Suzanne Collins’s novel and unfolds 24 years before Katniss Everdeen volunteers, beginning on the morning of the reaping for the second Quarter Quell. It follows 2023’s “The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes,” which explored the early life of Coriolanus Snow.
The ensemble includes Mckenna Grace, Jesse Plemons, Ralph Fiennes, Glenn Close, Kieran Culkin, Elle Fanning, Billy Porter and Whitney Peak, who plays Haymitch’s love interest, Lenore Dove. Lawrence has confirmed that she returns as Katniss in the film. Lionsgate releases “Sunrise on the Reaping” in theaters Nov. 20.
