The Hunger Games series is set to continue with a new book titled Sunrise on the Reaping. The multimedia franchise is based on the young adult novel series of the same name by Suzanne Collins. It kicked off with the trilogy The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, and Mockingjay, which were published between 2008 and 2010. Those titles were adapted into a quartet of movies, with Mockingjay split into two movies in a similar vein to the split-up finales of the Harry Potter and Twilight movies, released once a year between 2012 and 2015.

Half a decade after the film series ended, Collins released the prequel book The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes in 2020. The story, which followed the younger years of Panem’s President Coriolanus Snow, was adapted into a movie in 2023 starring Tom Blyth in the lead role, which was originated onscreen by Donald Sutherland. Now, the new prequel Sunrise on the Reaping is set to extend the franchise on the page, and while many announcements about the book are yet to come, quite a few details are already known.

Sunrise On The Reaping’s Release Date

The New Hunger Games Book Comes Half A Decade After The Last One

The Associated Press announcement of the new novel revealed that Sunrise on the Reaping will be published on March 18, 2025. This is almost exactly five years after the publication of The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, which was released on May 19, 2020. It is also nearly a decade and a half after the last of the original Hunger Games books, Mockingjay, was published on August 24, 2010.

Sunrise On The Reaping Story & Title: What Is It About?

The New Book Will Also Be A Prequel To The Hunger Games

Collins has not yet revealed which characters will be central to the story of her new novel. However, she revealed quite a few details about the setting and inspiration for Sunrise on the Reaping. This includes the fact that it is another prequel to The Hunger Games, though it is not set directly after the events of 2020’s The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. It will take place roughly 40 years after that prequel and 24 years before the original Hunger Games novel.

The novel will kick off with the Reaping for the Fiftieth Hunger Games, presumably following the goings-on of the games as well. Although this timeline has not been covered before in the novels, as the most recent Quarter Quell before Katniss’ second Hunger Games, it has previously been mentioned in the original trilogy. Drawing inspiration from philosopher David Hume, Collins will use the story to examine the nature of propaganda, who holds the power to control the narrative and establish truth, and the “easiness with which the many are governed by the few.”

Which Hunger Games Characters Can Return In Sunrise On The Reaping

Haymitch Abernathy Will Almost Certainly Return, Among Others

Although no returning characters have been officially confirmed for Sunrise on the Reaping, quite a bit is already known about the Fiftieth Hunger Games. For instance, it has already been revealed in the original trilogy that the gimmick for the second Quarter Quell is that twice as many tributes were sought in the Reaping, resulting in 48 competitors entering the arena. Two of the competitors from District 12 were Katniss’ future mentor Haymitch Abernathy and a female tribute named Maysilee Donner.

It seems more or less certain that Haymitch and Maysilee will be in the book, as well as an older Coriolanus Snow, who was President of Panem by that point in the storyline. However, there are quite a few other characters who are the right age to possibly appear and who have not been confirmed to have died before the Fiftieth Hunger Games. This includes Hunger Games host Caesar Flickerman, Snow’s cousin Tigris, Tenth Hunger Games victor Lucy Gray Baird, District 13 leader President Coin, and older former victors seen in Catching Fire including Mags, Beetee, and Wiress.

None of the tributes from the original Hunger Games, including Katniss, Gale, and Peeta, were alive during the time of the Fiftieth Hunger Games, so they are unlikely to appear in Sunrise on the Reaping. There are also quite a few characters who were alive during that time but are unlikely to appear, as they would have probably been children or teenagers, but not ones who participated in the Hunger Games. This includes District 12’s escort Effie Trinket, gamemaker Seneca Crane, Capitol stylist Cinna, and Katniss’ mother and father.

Will Sunrise On The Reaping Become A Movie?

Every Hunger Games Novel Has Been Adapted So Far

So far, the film rights for the new Hunger Games novel have not yet been announced. However, a film adaptation of Sunrise on the Reaping seems entirely likely, as every previous novel in the series has been adapted to the big screen. While Songbirds and Snakes was the lowest-grossing movie in the franchise by far, followed by the second most recent title, Mockingjay – Part 2, both movies still performed solidly at the box office, which could indicate that a new movie would work well if it had a tidier budget like the original 2012 movie.

Source: Associated Press