By Quinn Hathaway

Suzanne Collins released a new addition to the Hunger Games series on Mar. 18, a prequel to the original trilogy titled Sunrise on the Reaping. The trilogy of The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, and The Mockingjay debuted in 2008, 2009, and 2010, respectively.  The first prequel, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, dropped in 2020. While the series immediately drew avid readers in, it reached a wider audience range when the movie versions of the books hit theaters. 

The Hunger Games was the first novel of the series to acquire a movie adaptation in 2012, with Gary Ross directing the film and Ross and Collins co-writing the script. The movie reached a rating of 84 percent on Rotten Tomatoes and skyrocketed the careers of Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson. Lawrence plays the protagonist, Katniss Everdeen, and Hutcherson takes on the male lead of Peeta Mellark. The film and the novel have very little deviation in plot; both showcase a dystopian society under a totalitarian regime. An annual lottery draws the names of twelve teenagers, who become the contestants of a game where only one survives. All of the novels and subsequent films follow different years of the Hunger Games, each unique and different than the prior. The the futuristic society quickly intrigued viewers, leading to substantial box office sales. 

The second and third film adaptations were released in 2013, 2014, and 2015, with the third film divided into two parts. The first prequel, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, followed the first film’s antagonist, Corniolanus Snow, during his childhood, depicting a twisted love story and a different set of Hunger Games. This novel received a movie adaptation more recently, dropping on Nov. 23, 2023. However, the movie received only 64 percent on Rotten Tomatoes and faced minor controversy over its apparent rehumanization of the first movie’s villain.

Scholastic originally announced the existence of a new Collins book on Jun. 6, and the Hunger Games universe finally received the addition this March. The new prequel details a separate Hunger Games, following a prominent character, Haymitch Abernathy, from the original trilogy. The novel paints the scene of an unlikely rebellion, detailing astute propaganda and an authoritarian society. So far, the novel has received positive feedback and is set to be turned into a movie debuting on Nov. 20, 2026. Francis Lawrence, the director of Catching Fire, Mockingjay: Part One, and Mockingjay: Part Two, enlisted to direct Sunrise on the Reaping. Lawrence commented,“[The crew is] very excited. We’ve been working on this draft for a year. We start shooting in July.” The cast has not yet been confirmed. 

With her first published work debuting in 1991, Collins has made a huge impact on the literary world, and readers have quickly acclaimed Sunrise on the Reaping as a similarly impressive caliber of work. Collins, preferring to stay mainly out of the public eye, has not commented on whether she has any other novels in the works as of now. 

(Sources: NY Times, The Guardian)