A new Hunger Games novel is on the way from author Suzanne Collins and, Lionsage has already acquired the movie rights. Francis Lawrence, who directed Catching Fire, Mockingjay – Part 1, Mockingjay – Part 2, and The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, is in talks to helm the adaptation.
The new book, titled Sunrise on the Reaping, will take place 40 years after The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, which was adapted into a movie starring Rachel Zegler and Tom Blyth last year. As that story follows the 10th annual Hunger Games, Sunrise on the Reaping will therefore take us forward to the 50th edition of the Games – which happens to have been won by none other than Haymitch Abernathy, Katniss and Peeta's mentor. He was played by Woody Harrelson, opposite Jennifer Lawrence's Katniss and Josh Hutcherson's Peeta, in the original quartet of movies.
Other than the time period, we don't know too much else about the plot so far, but Collins has given us some hints about the themes explored in the novel. "With Sunrise on the Reaping, I was inspired by David Hume’s idea of implicit submission and, in his words, 'the easiness with which the many are governed by the few,'" she told the AP. "The story also lent itself to a deeper dive into the use of propaganda and the power of those who control the narrative. The question ‘Real or not real?’ seems more pressing to me every day."
Sunrise on the Reaping will be published on March 18, 2025, and the big-screen adaptation is set to arrive on November 20, 2026. In the meantime, check out our guide to the other best upcoming movies on the way.
