Image Credit: Bruce Glikas/WireImage The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping, directed by franchise veteran Francis Lawrence, is gearing up for its highly anticipated release next year - marking the series' return to the big screen for the first time since The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes. Although it's the newest installment, the film takes audiences back decades before Katniss Everdeen (played by Jennifer Lawrence) stepped forward as tribute.