Suzanne Collins’ newest expansion to her successful and critically acclaimed original The Hunger Games trilogy released on Tues., March 18.  The new book, Sunrise on the Reaping takes place 24 years before the original trilogy, and roughly 40 years after The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.

The Hunger Games trilogy and The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes were turned into 5 movies over the course of 17 years, and also sold over 100 million copies of the books.  Of course, an expansion to a series as culturally significant as The Hunger Games trilogy also comes with a movie, which is set to release in Nov. of 2026.

Many fans are really excited about the promise of the new movie. “After watching the previous Hunger Games movies when I was younger, I’m super excited to find out more about Haymitch and his background in the upcoming film,” one fan says.

Sunrise on the Reaping, a book with three parts across 382 pages, tells the story of a character from the original trilogy, Haymitch Abernathy.  This is very similar to The Ballad of Song Birds and Snakes, which is an origin story for President Snow, another character that is very important to the original trilogy.

Unlike President Snow, Haymitch actually participates in the hunger games themselves.  His games, as told in the original trilogy, were the 50th hunger games or the second quarter quell. 

The book tells the story of his life in his home district, district 12, and his life before the reaping.  It expands on the details we already know of his games, and ties in many perceived loose ends and characters from the original trilogy and The Ballad of Song Birds and Snakes.  It will also tie up a lingering question about the original series, which is what happened to Haymitch’s family and friends in district 12 after his games.

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes was extremely successful, with the 2020 book selling millions of copies and the 2023 movie grossing almost 349 million dollars, so Sunrise on the Reaping is, hopefully, set up for success!