It seems like Panem might be brought back to life sooner than fans think, as one of the stars of the new feature adaptation Sunrise On The Reaping has confirmed what month they are to begin production.
Ben Wang, who is set to play a tribute from District 12 named Wyatt Callow, confirmed in an interview with ScreenRant that filming will be starting soon, in July to be exact. This confirmation happened at the New York premiere of Wang’s new film, Karate Kid: Legend, where he has a leading role. When asked by reporters to confirm the rumors of Sunrise On The Reaping starting production in July, Wang responded, “Yes, we’re starting… yeah, that’s my understanding. Honestly, right now I’m just getting onboarded, so I know about as much as you.” Along with that statement, Wang expresses his love for the book series, saying that he has been a longtime fan of it, even reading this feature’s source material when it was released back in March.
This also marks Wang’s second time collaborating with this adaptation’s director, Francis Lawrence, who directed films two through four of the original franchise along with the prequel film that was released in 2023. Lawrence directed Wang in The Long Walk, an adaptation of Stephen King’s novel of the same title that is set to release in September of this year. Wang expressed his joy of working with Lawrence, commenting, “It’s so cool, and this is my second time working with Francis Lawrence because I worked with him on The Long Walk, so he’s really incredible. I can’t wait to see what he does with this one.”
The plot of Sunrise On The Reaping takes fans back 24 years before Katniss Everdeen volunteered to go into the arena, exploring the “infamous 50th Hunger Games, the brutal Second Quarter Quell, where twice the number of tributes are sent into the arena.” The main perspective of this novel is Haymitch Abernathy, who will be portrayed by fresh-faced Joseph Zada. Other names attached to this project include Kieran Culkin as Caesar Flickerman, Elle Fanning as Effie Trinket, and Ralph Fiennes as Coriolanus Snow.
Sunrise On The Reaping is set to release in theaters on November 20, 2026.
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