The Hunger Games: Sunrise On The Reaping Stars Face Their Own Arena In WWXD

The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping sheds light on the origin of one of the dystopian franchise's most beloved characters, Haymitch Abernathy, and introduces some of the most important people in his life (and his arena). Though he was first introduced as Katniss and Peeta's drunken District 12 member in The Hunger Games, Haymitch had plenty of fire in him before the Capitol and President Snow stamped it out of him during the Second Quarter Quell. The stars of Sunrise on the Reaping — Joseph Zada, Mckenna Grace, Whitney Peak, Ben Wang, and Iris Apatow — put aside the heartbreak that propels the franchise in order to add a little humor with a round of What Would X Do. The cast received various WWXD scenarios from ScreenRant, specifically involving Hunger Games arenas, and they had to decide how their characters would survive. See the full interview above, and read on to learn about some of their life-altering choices. The Cast Of Sunrise On The Reaping Know How To Handle The Hunger Games Sunrise on the Reaping's hero, Haymitch Abernathy, is a romantic through and through. Therefore, it's no wonder that Zada had a rather romantic reaction to the scenario of his favorite person being reprogrammed by the Capitol to lose their memories and hurt him. "It would have to be Lenore Dove, obviously," he began, before taking a page from the original Hunger Games trilogy. I think I'd just slowly nurse her back to health in the Peeta way. I think I'd just let her come to; just calm her down and tie her to the bed, like how they did with Peeta. Peak spoke for Lenore, adding, "I think Lenore's exact thought would be that you're just Haymitch being Haymitch. I love that you think [about Peeta], though." As for her own WWXD situation, she made a similarly relationship-oriented choice. If she had a time machine that would allow her to go back in time only once, "I would probably go back to the reaping day and not cause a ruckus." Her castmates teased her that she could have killed Snow as a baby (Zada's preferred choice) or stop the Hunger Games from ever starting (courtesy of Grace), but Peak defended herself admirably: "I was going for romance!" Given the choice between a wintry mountain and a sweltering desert for Proserpina Trinket's arena, Apatow had a defeatist yet hilarious response: "Wow, those are very horrible, both of them." She wisely felt like "the cold would be harder to survive," and instead went with "the sweltering heat arena because I feel like I could find some shelter." But with great self-awareness, she acknowledged her privilege. Because I'm in the Capitol, I've never thought about this. So, I think my character would be gone in two seconds. I would just do the full hiding method. And if anyone finds me, I'm like, "Okay, go ahead. Fair enough." When Wang uncovered an underground bunker in his scenario, allowing him to survive without participating in the arena's bloodbath, his reaction was swift and decisive. "I lock myself in the bunker and wait 25 years for the events of [Mockingjay] Part 2!" Grace, meanwhile, switched things up and answered as herself rather than as Maysilee — but her answer was gold nonetheless. When presented with the scenario of finding a treasure chest containing her dream meal, weapon, and sentimental item, she painted a picture worthy of its own movie scene. I find my treasure chest in the woods, and it has Cici's pizza - mac and cheese pizza, to be precise. [And] at Panda Express, they used to have cream cheese raggoons that were really good, but they changed the recipe. So, they'd have the old cream cheese ragoons, if you know ball. Then my dream weapon? They have my blow darts, which I guess also doubles for something sentimental. But if I'm going for something sentimental, it would have this little bracelet that I made with Mr. Mason Thames that has blue and brown on it. And it would have a picture of me and my wonderful District 12 family, because it's so sentimental. As for what she would do with her treasure trove? "I'd burn the photo, and I'd blow dart Joe [Zada]," she joked enthusiastically before amending, "I'd eat my pizza, I'd admire my bracelet, and I'd kick my feet." Honestly, there's no better way to spend one's time in the arena. The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping arrives in theaters on November 20. Check out our previous episodes of WWXD here: The Cast of Critical Role The Cast of Hadestown The Cast of 72 Hours The Cast of Adults Season 2 The Cast of Chad Powers Season 2 The Cast of Matchbox: The Movie Release Date November 20, 2026 Runtime 150 Minutes Director Francis Lawrence Cast Joseph Zada Haymitch Abernathy Whitney Peak Lenore Dove Baird Taking place in Panem 24 years prior to the original series, this new Hunger Games entry focuses on the reaping of the 50th Hunger Games.