Lionsgate announced it would be producing a film adaptation of Suzanne Collins' "Sunrise on the Reaping" before the book was even released.

Variety reported this week that Joseph Zada would star as Haymitch, one of the male Hunger Games tributes from District 12, in the new film. Zada is credited in two upcoming streaming series: "We Were Liars" on Prime Video and "East of Eden" on Netflix.

"Sunrise on the Reaping," one of two prequels Collins has released in the aftermath of the original books, is set 24 years before the events of the series' first novel. Chronicling the 50th Hunger Games, the tale is told from the perspective of Haymitch Abernathy, Katniss' hardened but lovable mentor, who ultimately wins the games.