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The Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins is one of the most read Young Adult (YA) dystopian novels. The book series became so popular that it even got a film adaptation starring Jennifer Lawrence.
Years after the publishing of The Hunger Games trilogy, Collins published another book in 2020, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, a prequel to the dystopian trilogy, set 64 years before the events of the first novel. Last year, this prequel was made into a movie and released, and became a massive hit.
So, after the success of the prequel novel and the movie, Collins announced the fifth book in the dystopian franchise on Thursday, titled "Sunrise on the Reaping", the novel will be released next year. The Sunrise on the Reaping will be set in Panem 24 years before The Hunger Games. It will focus on the 50th Hunger Games (the Second Quarter Quell), which saw District 12’s Haymitch Abernathy as the winner.
Along with the upcoming book release, Lionsgate has also announced plans to make the prequel into a movie. Francis Lawrence, the filmmaker behind the last four Hunger Games movies, is in talks to return to direct. “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 theatres in 2026,” Collins wrote in her statement.
The story of The Hunger Games is set in the dystopian country of Panem, made up of the wealthy Capitol and 13 districts in varying states of poverty. Every year, children from the first 12 districts are selected through lottery to participate in a compulsory televised deadly match called The Hunger Games. The books explore the themes of capitalism, rebellion and oppression.