The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping trailer reminds me even more of the most deranged horror movie of the 20th century

• The first full trailer for The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping has been released
• Revisits the world of Panem 24 years before the events of The Hunger Games, starting on the morning of the reaping of the 50th Hunger Games
• Stars Joseph Zada, McKenna Grace, Ralph Fiennes, Elle Fanning, Maya Hawke, and Glenn Close

May the odds be ever in our favor — the official full trailer for The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping is finally here (which you can catch up with in full below).

Where we only got a quick glimpse at the Second Quarter Quell arena and the drama behind it when the first teaser released in November 2025, but that's now been fleshed out into a two and a half minute fan feast.

The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping (2026) Official Trailer – Joseph Zada - YouTube

Watch On

Set 24 years before the events of the original The Hunger Games trilogy, Sunrise on the Reaping sandwiches itself between The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes and Katniss Everdeen's first games... meaning there's a ton of lore and detail to pick up on.

Joseph Zada, McKenna Grace, Ralph Fiennes, Elle Fanning, Maya Hawke, and Glenn Close lead our cast, and frankly, are already remarkable in their roles.

But excitement aside, I can't believe that nobody is talking about how much Sunrise on the Reaping is resembling the hit 2010s horror movie Midsommar... and not just aesthetically.

Opinion: Sunrise on the Reaping is the Midsommar of The Hunger Games, flowers aside

MIDSOMMAR | Official Trailer HD | A24 - YouTube

Watch On

If you're a fan of the A24 horror movie Midsommar, you'll know that the meat of the story isn't just about colorful flowers in a brightly lit field.

Our premise outlines a couple traveling to Sweden to visit their friend's rural hometown for its fabled midsummer festival, but what begins as an idyllic retreat quickly devolves into an increasingly violent and bizarre competition at the hands of a pagan cult.

The result? Deranged behavior, vulnerable and unrelenting grief, and zero explanation — all things that any Hunger Games tournament has in abundance. If anything, the entire franchise is more aligned to the horror genre than we give it credit for.

As fans have picked up in the YouTube comments, the light, vibrant color grading is going to be a direct contrast to the narrative, potentially making Sunrise on the Reaping the darkest standalone story yet.

Come November, we can expect the new movie to essentially be a psychological experiment, both for its characters and its viewers. Combine this unique experience with the exceptional attention to detail, and we might be looking at one of the best movies of 2026.

The best TVs for all budgets

➡️ Read our full guide to the best TVs
1. Best overall:
LG C5
2. Best under 1000:
US: Hisense U8QG
UK: TCL C7K
3. Best under 500:
US: Roku Plus Series
UK: Amazon Fire TV Omni QLED

Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button!

And of course you can also follow TechRadar on TikTok for news, reviews, unboxings in video form, and get regular updates from us on WhatsApp too.