Hunger Games fans, get ready! A new book and film are on the way. Author Suzanne Collins and her publisher Scholastic announced that the fifth book, The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping, will come out on March 18, 2025. Lionsgate is also planning a movie based on this new book.
Francis Lawrence, who directed four previous Hunger Games films, is in talks to direct the new one too. He directed Catching Fire, Mockingjay Part 1, Mockingjay Part 2, and last year’s The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, which made nearly $340 million at the box office.
At the premiere of The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes in November 2023, Lawrence expressed his excitement about Collins writing more books.
Hunger Games Suzanne’s Next Big Project
“I would love for her to write more. I don’t know if she needs to write more. Suzanne gets inspired, comes up with a theme, and builds stories around it. If she gets inspired, I’d be excited to work with her again.”
The original four films starring Jennifer Lawrence made nearly three billion dollars at the box office. The new story, “Sunrise on the Reaping,” will take place 24 years before the first Hunger Games novel. It starts on the morning of the reaping for the 50th Hunger Games, also known as the second quarter quell. These games are famous because Hamish Abernathy, played by Woody Harrelson in the movies, was the victor.
There’s no word yet on casting for the film, but Lionsgate plans to release it in theaters on November 20, 2026. For more information, visit THR.com.
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New Hunger Games Prequel
We’re getting a new Hunger Games book! I didn’t think Suzanne Collins would write another one, but I always hoped. We’ve only seen 3 out of the 75 Hunger Games, so there’s a lot more to explore. We could learn about the dark days, the war, the revolution, and many other things.
Collins said she was done with the series in 2015 when Mockingjay Part 2 came out. But just four years later, she surprised fans by announcing a prequel novel, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, which was released in 2020. Now, her new book is titled Sunrise on the Reefing and will be released on March 18th, 2025.
It makes sense that Collins would expand the series since it has sold over 100 million copies. The Hunger Games films have made $3.3 billion at the box office, making them the 20th highest-grossing franchise of all time.
Collins said this about her new novel: “With Sunrise on the Reefing, I was inspired by David Hume’s idea of implicit submission and how easily the many are governed by the few. The story also explores propaganda and the power of those who control the narrative. The question ‘real or not real’ seems more pressing to me every day.”
David Hume was a Scottish philosopher from the 1700s known for questioning how humans distinguish good from bad and make moral decisions. This focus on good and evil will play a big part in the new novel.
The book will be a prequel to the original three books and set 24 years before them. It will also be a sequel to The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, set 40 years after that story. If Ballad focused on the 10th Hunger Games, then this new book will focus on the 50th Hunger Games, which is exciting because it’s when Haymitch Abernathy participated.
Every quarter quell has something special about it. For example, in the 75th Hunger Games (the third quarter quell), tributes were reaped from past victors. In the second quarter quell (the 50th Hunger Games), there were double the tributes—four people chosen instead of two.
In each district, 4 kids were chosen, 2 boys and 2 girls. This meant there were 48 kids going into the arena instead of the usual 24. In “Catching Fire,” Katniss and Peeta watched highlights of these games. They featured another District 12 girl named Mesa Lee Donner, who teamed up with Haymitch.
he won’t spoil too much, but the outcome of these games explains why Haymitch is the way he is when we meet him 24 years later in the 74th Hunger Games. Right now, there’s no movie announced for this book, but I’m sure plans are in motion. Lionsgate, which made the other Hunger Games films, will probably take on this project too.
For “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes,” the movie was announced soon after the book. So, I think an announcement for “Sunrise of the Reaping” is coming soon.
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