Suzanne Collins knows fans aren’t done with Panem and is reprising the series yet again. Today, the Hunger Games writer announced another prequel, Sunrise on the Reaping, slated for release on March 18, 2025.
The new book will center on the second Quarter Quell, the games that Haymitch Abernathy (portrayed by Woody Harrelson in the movies) won. “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,'” Collins said in a statement to AP. “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.”
Fans have longed for an announcement like this for years. Haymitch’s backstory is so popular that a fanmade video of the second Quarter Quell uploaded to YouTube in 2011 garnered over 13 million views.
The new book comes after the success of the movie adaptation of her previous prequel, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. The combination of the film and current events revitalized the Hunger Games fandom for Gen Z, and they celebrated Sunrise on the Reaping’s announcement on X / Twitter.
One edited a popular meme format to read, “Shout out to Suzanne Collins fr, gotta be one of my favorite genders.” Another wrote, “I am too damn seated” on an image of a girl surrounded by photos of Harrelson as Haymitch.
Some fans skipped over the book news, instead anticipating the inevitable film adaptation, which was also confirmed for a Nov. 20, 2026, release date. Let the dream-casting begin!
One X user shared a copypasta first posted by The Bear star Ayo Edebiri, “i’m seated. the theatre employees are scared and asking me to leave because “the movie doesn’t exist yet” but i’m simply too seated.” Even greedier fans insinuated they need a Finnick Odair (portrayed by Sam Claflin) prequel next.
As always, other fans leaned into the nostalgia of it all.
Hunger Games joins Taylor Swift and Sex and the City in capitalizing on Zillennial childhood nostalgia.
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