Compared to the previous films in the Hunger Games franchise, the upcoming prequel, The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping, is noticeably more vibrant and colorful. In the film’s various trailers, we can see that the Tribute Parade is accented by bursts of magenta and yellow powder, and the arena is a lush, green field filled with vivid flowers and brightly colored birds.
According to cinematographer Jo Willems, the film’s look serves a very specific purpose. As Willems told Entertainment Weekly, “…there’s definitely a contrast between all that’s happening on screen between the characters and the environment they occupy.” That Tribute Parade sets the stage for one of the most viscerally upsetting sequences in any of Suzanne Collins’ five Hunger Games books (you can catch a glimpse of it in the most recent trailer); that gorgeous arena is where 48 children must fight each other to the death. The juxtaposition of the bright, colorful imagery with the horror of the events that are playing out on screen is meant to drive home how wrong it all is.
“It’s quite confusing because [the tributes] come up top and it’s like, ‘Oh, wow, this is quite beautiful, but I’m actually staring at my death,'” Willems said of the arena. In addition to all the tributes trying to kill each other, the arena itself is deadly; pretty much everything inside of it, including those pretty flowers and birds, is either poisonous or programmed to attack on sight.
Sunrise on the Reaping is set during the second Quarter Quell, a special version of the Hunger Games that takes place every 25 years. This time, instead of each district sending two tributes to the Games, they have to send four. For District 12, one of those tributes is Haymitch Abernathy, the eventual mentor to Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) and Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson) in the first four films. In those films, Haymitch is played by Woody Harrelson, but in Sunrise on the Reaping, which is set 24 years before the events of the first film, he’s played by Joseph Zada. The film follows Haymitch as he attempts to rebel against the Capital and bring the Games to an end. Given that the Games are still happening 24 years later, we know he doesn’t succeed—but there’s a lot more to his story than previous franchise installments led us to believe.
Sunrise on the Reaping releases in theaters on November 20.
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