'The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping' Movie Announced for 2026, Hours After Suzanne Collins Reveals New Book Is Coming!
Just hours after author Suzanne Collins announced her new Hunger Games prequel book “Sunrise on the Reaping,” Lionsgate has announced a film version is coming, too!
The book will be released on March 18, 2025 and will take place 40 years after the events of “The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes.” According to EW, the book will highlight the 50th Hunger Games, which is the same Hunger Games that was won by district 12 tribute Haymitch Abernathy (played by Woody Harrelson in the trilogy).
Now, Lionsgate has announced The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping, a film version of the book, will be released the following year on November 20, 2026! Keep reading to find out more… The plot “will revisit the world of Panem 24 years before the events of The Hunger Games, starting on the morning of the reaping of the 50th Hunger Games, also known as the Second Quarter Quell.” Even better news: Francis Lawrence is in talks to direct the film! Francis has helmed four previous films in the Hunger Games franchise. “From the beginning, Lionsgate has been a wonderful home and partner for the Hunger Games franchise, and I’m very excited to be collaborating with Adam and the team as we bring this next story to theaters in 2026,” Suzanne Collins said in a statement.
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes was made into a 2023 film starring Rachel Zegler and Tom Blyth.
