Lionsgate releases a “Meet Haymitch” featurette promoting The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping. The promo debuts around “Reaping Day” and highlights the character’s backstory, introducing Joseph Zada as a young Haymitch Abernathy. The prequel’s story is set decades before the original Hunger Games films and focuses on the 50th Hunger Games, in which Haymitch is a victor. The featurette presents Zada’s performance and his approach to playing the character, and it links the depiction of young Haymitch to the role previously played by Woody Harrelson in the main film series. The outlets also position the movie as a follow-up to The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes, which was released in 2023. In addition to Zada, the reports identify a cast that includes Jesse Plemons as Plutarch Heavensbee and Ralph Fiennes as President Coriolanus Snow, alongside other performers listed for roles in the film. The “Meet Haymitch” teaser serves as a first look at Zada’s Haymitch ahead of the film’s scheduled release date.