Long before he became Katniss Everdeen’s sharp-tongued mentor, Haymitch Abernathy was just another teenager forced into Panem’s deadliest arena.

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‘The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping’: Joseph Zada on Haymitch Role

‘The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping’: Joseph Zada Talks Haymitch Role in Behind-the-Scenes First Look

Joseph Zada as Haymitch Abernathy in 'The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping.'

As the new face of Haymitch Abernathy, actor Joseph Zada knows he has big shoes to fill. In the upcoming prequel film The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping, Zada plays a young version of the character Woody Harrelson played in the original Hunger Games tetralogy. And in a new behind-the-scenes first look for Sunrise on the Reaping, Zada pays tribute to Harrelson, so to speak.

“Such a fan of his work,” the Australian up-and-comer says. “It’s been intense being like Woody’s Haymitch. It’s just so special to share that space with him.”

Adds producer Nina Jacobson, “Woody Harrelson as Haymitch has a mischief to him.”

Director Francis Lawrence, who has helmed every Hunger Games film since Catching Fire, says, “It’s a very iconic portrayal of a character.”

Joseph Zada as Haymitch Abernathy in 'The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping.'

Murray Close/Lionsgate

The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping, due for release in theaters on November 20, revisits the world of Panem 24 years before the events of The Hunger Games, starting on the morning of the reaping of the 50th Hunger Games, also known as the Second Quarter Quell, according to a Lionsgate synopsis.

And Haymitch, who would go on to mentor Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) in The Hunger Games, takes the lead in the new film. Here, he’s a young man who defies the Capitol and is drafted into the Second Quarter Quell as punishment. And soon he comes into contact with younger versions of other iconic Hunger Games characters: Effie Trinket (Elle Fanning), Caesar Flickerman (Kieran Culkin), Plutarch Heavensbee (Jesse Plemons), Wiress (Maya Hawke) and President Coriolanus Snow (Ralph Fiennes).

First Look at Joseph Zada as Young Haymitch in 'The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping' - Popternative

“They’re stuck in this terrible situation, and that has such a strong bond to it,” Zada says of the film’s Second Quarter Quell combatants.

“This film tracks the loss of innocence, but also the ignition of [Haymitch’s] revolutionary spirit,” says Ben Wang, who plays tribute Wyatt Callow in the film.

“All of a sudden, there’s a little sliver of hope,” adds Plemons. “Just seeing all the fire that this kid has inside of him.”

Starring in Sunrise on the Reaping was “the most life-changing experience” for Zada, he raved. “And this story really hits home — that your involvement, even as insignificant as you think it may be, has the power to change things over time.”

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