6 June 2024, 14:42
Picture:
Alamy, Waterstones, Lionsgate
By Katie Louise Smith
Sunrise on the Reaping will take place 24 years before The Hunger Games and Katniss’ story, and will focus on the 50th Hunger Games.
It’s official – The Hunger Games franchise is finally set to explore Haymitch Abernathy’s historic games in a brand new prequel book, titled Sunrise on the Reaping.
Author Suzanne Collins has just announced that she is set to release the fifth book in the Hunger Games series, which will be published on March 18th 2025.
Sunrise on the Reaping will begin with the reaping of the 50th Hunger Games, set 24 years before Katniss’ story begins, and 40 years after the events of The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.
Fans of the novels (and the films) will know that the 50th Hunger Games was the one that saw a young Haymitch emerge as the victor after beating 47 other tributes. While it’s not been confirmed that he will be the main character, it seems highly likely that fans will finally get to see how his journey in the games unfolds.
Back in 2023, shortly after the film release of The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, fans began sharing the characters they’d love to see explored in further prequels. Coriolanus Snow‘s backstory – and history with Lucy Gray Baird – was explored so brilliantly in TBOSAS, it left fans desperate to see more.
Haymitch Abernathy (played by Woody Harrelson in the original film trilogy) has long been at the top of fans’ wishlists when it comes to prequels. 16-year-old Haymitch was the victor in the 50th Hunger Games, which saw 48 tributes fight to the death instead of the usual 24. (Four tributes – two girls and two boys – from each district took part in the anniversary games.)
At this point in the story, Coriolanus Snow has been president of Panem for a couple of decades. So anyone hoping to see glimpses of their beloved Coryo from TBOSAS… he no longer exists! He’ll be in full tyrannical dictator mode now.
Picture:
Alamy
Speaking about the inspirations for the book, Suzanne said in a statement: “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.'”
“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.”
No other details about the plot of the book have been released. Film rights have also not yet been announced.
All four previous books have been adapted into incredibly successful movies, and the 2023 release of The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes has only proven that there is still a huge interest to see the books come to life on screen.
Stay tuned for the inevitable confirmation that the new book will be turned into a movie. Until then, everyone say: Thank you Suzanne Collins, and thank Rachel Zegler.
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