Fans of Suzanne Collins’ acclaimed “The Hunger Games” book series and its subsequent film adaptations have double the reason to rejoice. On June 6th, Scholastic, Collins’ publisher, officially announced a new addition to the celebrated series. Titled “Sunrise on the Reaping,” the book is set to hit shelves on March 18, 2025. Moreover, a film adaptation has already been confirmed.
New “Hunger Games” Film to Premiere in 2026
According to the US trade magazine “Variety,” which cited an official statement from the production company Lionsgate, the film adaptation of “Sunrise on the Reaping” will debut in US cinemas on November 20, 2026. Francis Lawrence, who directed all the films in the highly popular series starting with the second installment, “Catching Fire” in 2013, is in talks to direct this new movie.
Plot of “Sunrise on the Reaping”
In Collins’ latest work, the story of the 50th Hunger Games is told. Set 24 years before the events surrounding Katniss Everdeen, these special, particularly brutal Hunger Games, known as the Jubilee Anniversary, see double the number of tributes entering the arena. A familiar character to fans, Haymitch Abernathy, portrayed by Woody Harrelson in the first four films, also participates in the 50th Hunger Games.
This new “Hunger Games” film is thus a prequel, similar to the 2023 release “The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes,” which also explored a backstory.
The most recent, fifth installment of the “Panem” series grossed over 337 million dollars worldwide, against a reported budget of 100 million dollars. The entire film series has so far amassed over 3.3 billion dollars at the global box office.