Scholastic announced Thursday that Collins’ fifth installment of the “Hunger Games” series will be published on March 18, 2025. The new book starts with the Fiftieth Hunger Games’ reaping — 24 years before the original, and first, “Hunger Games”, novel.
This upcoming novel will also take place 40 years after Collins’ recent installment, “The Ballads of Songbirds and Snakes.”
The “Hunger Games” trilogy, which follow protagonist, Katniss Everdeen, as she fights for survival and leads a revolution in the country of Panem, have sold over 100 million copies and have been translated into many languages.
The final installment of the trilogy seemingly ended in 2010 with the publication, “Mockingjay,” however, Collins’ surprised fans with a fourth installment in 2020, “The Ballad of Songbird and Snakes.”
The novel takes place 64 years before the first installment of the series and follows protagonist, Coriolanus Snow — the antagonist of the main trilogy — as he starts his mentorship and journey in the Panem executive ranks.
Along the way he meets Lucy Gray, a tribute for the 10th Hunger Games with a powerful singing voice that attracts people to her — including Snow; but only one can win the Hunger Games and Snow is determined that Lucy will come out alive.
The latest installment became a Lionsgate film November 2023, beating multiple movies on opening week, but falling short by more than 300 million dollars overall than its predecessor “Hunger Games” movies in the box office.
Collins’ other films became box office hits, with the second movie, “Catching Fire,” earning a lifetime gross of 400 million dollars, with 158 million dollars being only on the opening week. All of the “Hunger Games” franchise movies were distributed by Lionsgate and directed by Francis Lawrence, with only the first movie directed by Gary Ross.
Collins’ upcoming prequel will also be turned into a movie, according to Lionsgate. The announcement came in early June that “Sunrise on the Reaping” will premiere in theatres on Nov. 20, 2026. Francis Lawrence will also reprise his role as the director for this film.
Where Have We Left Off So Far?
In “Mockingjay,” Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark, the victors of the 74th and 75th Hunger Games return to District 12 where they start a family, finally free from the control of the government and living peacefully with their children, albeit still dealing with trauma from lost loved ones and nightmares from their previous games once in a while.
Haymitch also returns, although the novel does not explicitly say what happened to him like Peeta and Katniss, the readers can presume that Haymitch is also living peacefully in District 12 raising geese.
Haymitch was not mentioned much for most of the novel from dealing with alcohol withdrawals, which makes sense considering the books are written from Katniss’s point of view.
What Can We Expect in This Story?
Haymitch Abernathy is the theorized protagonist of this story. Haymitch is the mentor to the two protagonists in the main series, Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark. He becomes a foil to the loyal victors of the previous Hunger Games by not adhering to President Snow’s commands and later helping Peeta and Katniss on their quest for survival.
In the second installment, “Catching Fire,” the novel alludes to Haymitch’s game being part of a “Quarter Quell,” meaning that the government of Panem, the capitol, alters the game rules every 25 years to display the gruesome death games as a reminder to the people living in the districts on their failed rebellion to overthrow them.
The rules are never the same in each Quarter Quell. In Haymitch’s game, the capitol reaped 48 tributes instead of the usual 24 tributes — double the tragedy and odds of the tributes.
The book explains how Haymitch won the game by taking advantage of the arena’s force field to defeat the final tribute. He fought to the death and tricked his opponent to jump onto the force field, causing them to bounce off and fatally injure him, marking Haymitch the winner.
Since the now-deceased tribute was a Capitol favorite, they are angered that Haymitch outsmarted them and kill his family and partner, causing a lifelong grudge between them and leads him to alcoholism.
Popular Fan Theories
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One of the main fan theories is that the novel will center on the unnamed, favorited tribute that Haymitch kills to declare his victory in his Quarter Quell.
This theory aligns with the point of view from “The Ballad of Songbird and Snakes,” where Coriolanus Snow detailed his upbringings and journey to eventually become the antagonist, President Snow.
If this novel adheres to the same writing principles, then Haymitch’s story arc could be seen differently by fans if the point of view shows a different side to Haymitch’s personality, strategy, and story.
Another popular fan theory is that this book will continue to focus on Coriolanus’s point of view, and detail his side of the story when Haymitch won the Quarter Quell.
This theory also brings light to the idea of “submissiveness,” that Collins has been alluding to in interviews. This can also mean that this novel could fill in the gaps on when Coriolanus becomes president Snow and how his relationship with Lucy Gray impacts his governing.
Additionally, this new perspective can tie in the full story of President Snow, the Quarter Quell origins, completing his story arc and possibly allow space for a new story arc.
With so many details already given in the main trilogy, it’s no secret that this new game will hold any surprises on the victor and aftermath. Collins states multiple times that the story is a parallel and a social commentary on the relationship between governing parties and the people, “The question ‘Real or not real?’ seems more pressing to me every day.”
Fans can note how Collins’ statements bring attention to the overarching themes of this upcoming book and how the question of “real or not real” will play out in the story.
What would you dream casting be? What are you most excited for in this installment?
