Earlier today, the news broke that author Suzanne Collins is writing a new Hunger Games novel titled Sunrise on the Reaping. It will arrive in bookstores on March 18, 2025, and features a story which takes place 40 years after The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.
"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,'" Collins explained. "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."
Fans of the hit franchise wasted no time speculating that this book is likely setting the stage for another movie and, unsurprisingly, Lionsgate has confirmed plans (via SFFGazette.com) for The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping to be released in theaters on November 20, 2026.
Set during the Second Quarter Quell, it seems the idea is to explore the Games that Haymitch Abernathy (played by Woody Harrelson in the original trilogy) was part of. This places it 24 years before the events of The Hunger Games.
Francis Lawrence, who directed 2013's The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, 2014's The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1, 2015's The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2, and 2023's The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes, is in talks to helm the film.
"Suzanne Collins is a master storyteller and our creative north star," said Lionsgate Motion Picture Group’s Adam Fogelson. "We couldn’t be more fortunate than to be guided and trusted by a collaborator whose talent and imagination are so consistently brilliant. We know Hunger Games fans worldwide will be spellbound by where Suzanne has focused this next extraordinary story."
"The Second Quarter Quell is legendary and looms large over the history of the Games, even into the time of Katniss Everdeen a quarter-century later. Like fans around the globe, we are eagerly anticipating this exciting return to Panem."
Collins added, "From the beginning, Lionsgate has been a wonderful home and partner for the Hunger Games franchise, and I’m very excited to be collaborating with Adam and the team as we bring this next story to theaters in 2026."
There are surely those who will say Collins is simply writing books to turn into movies at this stage, but The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes novel was a hit and the movie grossed a solid $337.4 million worldwide.
As always, keep checking back here for updates on Sunrise on the Reaping as we have them.