Major critic says Sunrise on the Reaping is Rogue One for the Hunger Games franchise

First reactions to Francis Lawrence's The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping are in, and at least one critic agrees that this installment is a vital new perspective on the 18-year-old dystopian franchise. Sunrise on the Reaping follows 16-year-old Haymitch Abernathy (Joseph Zada) as he is forced to participate in the 50th Hunger Games and is recruited by the rebels to attempt to destroy the arena.

With younger versions of many characters from the original trilogy appearing, and Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson making their Hunger Games return, anticipation is skyrocketing. Now, critics have been allowed to share their reactions on social media, and one in particular makes a potent comparison to another game-changing film.

First reactions to The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping explained

The majority of the brief social media reviews for Sunrise on the Reaping are positive. As alluded to above, film critic Griffin Schiller said in his review that "Sunrise on the Reaping is the Rogue One/Andor of the franchise. A sobering, yet powerful story of devastating loss and the necessary cost of rebellion for a sunrise we may never see."

There has been overwhelming praise to go around for Zada's lead performance. Perri Nemiroff from Collider says, "His ability to capture Haymitch’s warmth and charm and then weave that into the rage and heartbreak the Hunger Games sparks is superb. SO much of this movie is on his shoulders, and he soars tackling every ounce of it."

Likewise, according to The Nerds of Color podcast, "Joseph Zada is electrifying as Haymitch" and the film itself is "easily the best film in the Hunger Games franchise." Meanwhile, Gavin Spoors agrees with the sentiments Schiller expresses, saying that "this emotional thriller nails the themes of the cost of revolution and how we all need to play our part."

This type of analysis is most critical to Schiller's assessment that Sunrise on the Reaping does for The Hunger Games what Rogue One and Andor do for Star Wars, by focusing on the devastating losses that go into a revolution starting years before it can finally succeed.

Schiller also says, "[Francis] Lawrence has always excelled at squaring our growing nihilism with the desire to disrupt the system, and Sunrise allows him to interrogate that tension more directly to great effect."

How does Sunrise on the Reaping compare to Rogue One?

Sunrise on the Reaping is unto itself a massive retcon, adding major events to the timeline. But this enriches the series, as it underscores that Katniss finally kickstarting the revolution during the 74th Hunger Games was a matter of luck, and only led to the Capitol's downfall because of all the people who had been preparing for years.

The rebels in Sunrise on the Reaping understand the importance of a symbol like Katniss and try to have Haymitch shut down the arena to be seen on national television. Sunrise on the Reaping is ultimately so important because it reveals how long Mags, Beetee, Wiress, and Plutarch had been working on this and what they sacrificed.

So it makes sense that Schiller and others would make connections to the Star Wars era of Rogue One and Andor. The TV series especially stresses the real challenges of building a successful revolution from the ground up. Rogue One and Andor are also both much darker because they focus so heavily on the senseless deaths of people who are essentially extras in Star Wars.

When they begin this latest Hunger Games prequel, most people know there will not be anything close to a happy ending for Haymitch for decades. If Schiller is to be believed, these core themes now also transfer over well from book to film for Sunrise on the Reaping.

The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping premieres in theaters on November 20, 2026.

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