Suzanne Collins' story of a young Haymitch Abernathy now has a song from The Smashing Pumpkins attached to its big screen version. The band released "Black Stars" on October 15 as the newest track from The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping (The Album), along with an official music video. The soundtrack arrives November 13 through MCA, and Lionsgate's adaptation of the novel follows in theaters on November 20, 2026.
Here is the official music video for "Black Stars":
From The Page To Panem On Screen
Sunrise on the Reaping was published by Scholastic on March 18, 2025, as the fifth novel in the series and the second prequel after The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes. Collins takes readers back 24 years before The Hunger Games to the morning of the reaping for the 50th Hunger Games. That year is the Second Quarter Quell, and the Capitol sends twice as many tributes into the arena as usual.
Haymitch is 16 and from District 12 when his name is called. Readers of the original trilogy met him as the drunk, worn down mentor of Katniss and Peeta, and the prequel shows the boy he was before the Games took everything from him. In the arena he forms an alliance with fellow District 12 tribute Maysilee Donner and joins a coalition that sets out to challenge the Capitol from within. He risks everything to bring the Games down from the inside, and his story is what sets the rebellion in motion.
The film keeps a familiar creative team in charge of the adaptation. Francis Lawrence directs, after previously bringing Catching Fire, both Mockingjay films, and The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes to the screen. Billy Ray, who co-wrote the first Hunger Games film, wrote the screenplay with Michael Lesslie, who also worked on the Songbirds script. Nina Jacobson, Brad Simpson, and Lawrence are producing.
A Song Picked To Fit The World Of The Books
"Black Stars" goes back to a time when frontman Billy Corgan was working on a solo album. The band was invited to contribute an original song to the film, and Corgan brought in producer Butch Vig to help choose the song that best matched the world of The Hunger Games. Vig produced the band's first two albums, Gish and Siamese Dream, which makes the track a reunion as well as a soundtrack single. Corgan currently plays alongside guitarist James Iha and drummer Jimmy Chamberlin.
The band shared the song on X, saying they were "Grateful to be casting our spell" on the album. Check out their post below:
"Black Stars" can be streamed now, and the album can be pre-ordered from the official listen and pre-order page.
Book Readers Will Spot Some Familiar Titles
The soundtrack is executive produced by Grammy winner Dave Cobb and features 29 artists across genres, with previously unreleased songs written for the film. Most of the tracklist still has no artist names attached, but a few titles stand out for anyone who has read the books. "Deep in the Meadow" shares its name with the District 12 lullaby Katniss sings to Rue, and there are three parts of a song called "The Raven" spread across the album. "Black Stars" is track 15, and Noah Kahan's "Draw You Out," the first single, released on October 2, is track 27.
Music runs through Collins' books, from "The Hanging Tree" to the songs of the Covey in The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes. The new story carries that thread forward through Lenore Dove Baird, Haymitch's girlfriend and a descendant of the Covey, the same group of traveling musicians Lucy Gray Baird belonged to. A full album of new songs fits a series where characters keep using music to push back against the Capitol.
Who Brings The Novel's Characters To Life
Joseph Zada plays Haymitch, the role Woody Harrelson played as an adult in the original films. Mckenna Grace is Maysilee Donner, Whitney Peak is Lenore Dove, and Ralph Fiennes takes over as President Snow. Several characters from the trilogy return as younger versions, with Jesse Plemons as Plutarch Heavensbee, Elle Fanning as Effie Trinket, Maya Hawke as Wiress, and Kelvin Harrison Jr. as Beetee. Glenn Close plays Drusilla Sickle, the Capitol escort for the District 12 tributes, and Kieran Culkin also stars.
The film is rated PG-13 for strong violence, bloody images, disturbing material, some smoking and teen drinking. It opens in theaters and IMAX on November 20, 2026.
Have you already read Sunrise on the Reaping, or are you waiting to meet young Haymitch for the first time in theaters?
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