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Lionsgate Debuts Joseph Zada as Young Haymitch in The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping

The studio’s July 4 featurette leans on visual links to Woody Harrelson to reassure fans as Lionsgate opens its fall marketing push.

Overview

  • Lionsgate released a 'Meet Haymitch' featurette that introduced Joseph Zada as the young Haymitch and confirmed the film’s Nov. 20 theatrical release.
  • The clip, which debuted on Saturday, includes comments from director Francis Lawrence and producer Nina Jacobson and shows on-set footage and cast interviews.
  • The promo deliberately pairs shots and mannerisms of Zada with Woody Harrelson’s Haymitch to create visual continuity and to position the new actor as a believable younger version.
  • The film is a Billy Ray adaptation of Suzanne Collins’ Sunrise on the Reaping that opens 24 years before the original series on the morning of the Second Quarter Quell.
  • The featurette spotlights Zada, a 20-year-old Australian actor, as a high-profile franchise breakout and signals that Lionsgate will roll out more marketing and full trailers ahead of the November release.