Maya Hawke is officially stepping into the arena — but this time, as a mentor. The Stranger Things star has joined the cast of The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping as Wiress, the eccentric and brilliant former victor from District 3, reimagined here in her earlier years as a mentor for a new generation of tributes in Panem. Wiress, originally played by Amanda Plummer in Catching Fire, was best known for her cryptic demeanor and the now-iconic phrase “tick tock” — a clue that helped Katniss Everdeen and her allies survive the deadly clock arena in the Quarter Quell.
The cast for Sunrise on the Reaping continues to impress, too. Joseph Zada will lead as Haymitch, with Whitney Peak playing his girlfriend Lenore Dove Baird, Mckenna Grace as fellow tribute Maysilee Donner, Jesse Plemons as Plutarch Heavensbee, and Kelvin Harrison Jr. as Beetee, the future tech genius of the resistance.
What Is ‘Sunrise on the Reaping’ About?

Based on the second prequel novel by Suzanne Collins, Sunrise on the Reaping revisits Panem nearly 24 years before Katniss Everdeen ever volunteered as tribute. The story opens on the morning of the reaping for the 50th Hunger Games, better known to fans as the Second Quarter Quell — and it follows a young Haymitch Abernathy, the future mentor of Katniss and Peeta, in the brutal Games that defined his life.
It’s the second prequel chapter in the Hunger Games cinematic saga. It follows 2023’s The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, which introduced fans to a young Coriolanus Snow and Lucy Gray Baird during the 10th Hunger Games. That movie brought in $348 million worldwide and confirmed that there’s still plenty of story — and plenty of audience — for Panem’s brutal past. Francis Lawrence, who has directed every Hunger Games film since Catching Fire, is once again at the helm for Sunrise on the Reaping. Lionsgate has set a November 20, 2026 release date, and the film is already shaping up to be one of the most anticipated blockbusters of that year, which is already packed full of huge titles.
The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping will hit theaters November 20, 2026. Stay tuned to Collider for more updates on Wiress, Haymitch, and the bloody return of the Quarter Quell.