New Hunger Games Novel Coming in 2025 From Suzanne Collins

The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping announced for 2025.

The Hunger Games  is getting a brand-new novel in 2025 and series author Suzanne Collins is revisiting Panem from a fresh angle. Scholastic announced Sunrise on the Reaping will land on March 18, 2025. It will be the fifth installment in the wildly popular Hunger Games franchise. This new novel will actually follow The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, and take place 40 years later. This time around, the 50th Hunger Games will serve as the focus of the story. Collins was inspired by the works of philosopjher David Hume and his focuses on propoganda and control. (That’s a topic not too unfamiliar to the series as information flow and its control served as the backbone of the original trilogy.) Still both Scholastic and the author have to be thrilled to be adding to a franchise with a massive existing fanbase.

“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. “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.”

Just Announced: A NEW Hunger Games novel by Suzanne Collins coming March 18, 2025! Pre-Order today! #TheHungerGames pic.twitter.com/Se7LdU8atv

— Scholastic (@Scholastic) June 6, 2024

As of the time of writing, there have been no confirmed film rights. However, the previous entries in The Hunger Games franchise have all been adapted by Lionsgate. Last year’s entry, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes was one of the big surprises of 2023’s box office. Safe to say, the movie studio is probably already monitoring the release of Sunrise on the Reaping and what possibilities exist for it on the big screen after the prequel’s recent performance.

What About Other Hunger Games Spinoffs?

While last year’s effort, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, translated quite well to the screen, fans have been wondering about some more recent corners of the franchise to explore. It’s no secret that there are viewers who would love nothing more than to learn about beloved characters from that first book series. Scroll through social media at any point here and you’ll see calls for more books about Haymitch Abernathy’s expeirence in the 50th Hunger Games. Even more prevalent are calls for more Finnick Odair after his trials in the 65th Hunger Games. 

While Collins hasn’t really said her peace on those ideas, she’s the one holding the pen. Franchise director Francis Lawrence defers to her judgement on such matters. The filmmaker spoke to Entertainment Weekly about the possibility of more Hunger Games spinoffs and he’s open to the idea. That’s all well and good, but you need Collins to actually provide a road map for such an endeavor and the director is very confident in her ideas and shape for the series overall.

“I liked being part of the series originally because the stories are great,” Lawrence told the outlet. “But what was always gratifying was that they were always about something. Suzanne always writes from a thematic foundation. The original ones were all about the consequences of war. [Songbirds and Snakes is] about the state of nature.” 

“That’s what makes them feel rich and not superficial, and I think it’s why they’ve stood the test of time, honestly… If Suzanne has another thematic idea that she feels fits into the world of Panem — whether that’s with new people [or] familiar characters [like] Finnick, Haymitch, whoever — I’d be really interested in looking at it and being a part of it,” the director observered. “But I don’t have any pull of just going, ‘I would love to do Finnick’s games.’ He’s a great character, but what’s the thematic underpinnings that make it worth telling and relevant?”

Do you want a Sunrise on the Reaping movie? Catch all of our pop culture discussion at @ComicBook on social media!